Obdurate Heart
by MorningHell
Summary: Slash. The Sith deal in absolutes. The heart, however, is far crueller...for it offers no such simplicity. ObiWanMaul.
1. Chapter 1

**Obdurate Heart - I**

_Well, yes. Here I present to you yet another story I may or may not ever finish. Much of it is done, however, so things are looking good thus far._

**_Warnings_**_: Yes, it has a slash theme. You know? Homosexual? Man on man? If this bothers you, don't bitch and moan to me about it. Yes, I know I'm going to Hell, and I'm really quite alright with that. What's your excuse?_

**_Setup_**_: So, it's a tad AU. It takes place at the end of Episode I, smack dab in the middle of Qui Gon's battle with Darth Maul. I don't think more really needs to be said in that area, you'll be able to pick up anything else on the way._

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"How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it."_**

**_-Marcus Aurelius

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The moment it happened, he knew. He had always been distracted by his own affairs at a given event to worry too directly about his master, but now, he was forced to watch and nothing more. He knew that his master could die, and if so, very many others to follow, though trapped behind this barrier, there was utterly nothing he could do. If he had only been but a moment faster! But a moment's more attentiveness, he would have been fighting at his master's side! Instead he stood gawking at the spar like the foolish boy he had spent a lifetime trying to pretend he was not. He had never felt such dread welling up beneath his chest, and he could make no attempts to push it down the way it was rising.

Qui Gon fought valiantly, a true lion of the Jedi knights in battle. His strength served him well, his calm saunter and grace despite a bit of aged wear employed to its highest level against an opponent who held against him an unfairly virile prowess. Obi Wan didn't fully realize how hard he was biting his lip as he watched a ferocious Darth Maul lunge for his beloved instructor again and again and again. If he had just been a second swifter, a moment more clearheaded, just one moment! His eyes were locked onto Qui Gon in a slow, strangling fret that coursed acid through his veins in tremors that made themselves known as more than ready to join the fight. Two against one, those weren't such terrible odds. He could not let Qui Gon fight this menace alone. Was there not some interval in these force fields, why would they not _yield_?

Saber met saber at a deadly pace, the mechanical hiss and crack of each countered blow resonating like gunfire through their metal battleground. Qui Gon, strong and collected, Maul, agile and feral. Opposites, both trained to kill one another's like, and there could be but one victor. Neither was intending to escape should there be an opportunity. This was a fight to the death. Obi Wan was teetering on the edge of panic.

The Sith apprentice leapt, dodging Qui Gon's well-aimed slice with ease and vaulting over his head to meet him again with the end of his double blade. The older master was able to block in time, and come back down parrying on his younger opponent. They fought with such intricate perfection that it almost seemed as though they had rehearsed this battle, that they knew each other through and through enough to predict the smallest gesture. Two true masters of their art, and it was nothing short of epic. Had it not been so truly dire, it may have been something to behold with admiration as opposed to terror. Their movements became faster, more violent, more ambitious but without carelessness as they spiraled into the mechanical mindset of war. Blows glanced back and forth, back and forth, and then—as though they had both been waiting for it, an upper hand was seized.

Qui Gon was not quick enough to stop an unexpected slice, which cut across his shoulder, and he was equally not prepared for the foot that was instantly planted to his chest afterwards. Maul raised his sword with a darkening glower, poised to strike the final blow.

"_No_!" Obi Wan screamed outward. Corruption, disorder, the consumption of the Republic into the gaping maw of Sith conquerors, it could not end this way! Obi Wan saw his world about to end. His master about to be cut down.

The force field let up.

Before Obi Wan had time to realize this, his legs were already charging forward toward the vile serpent about to delve his weapon down into Qui Gon's chest. _A Jedi does not feel hate._ Hatred coursed through his veins as he took up his saber. _A Jedi does not feel anger._ He swept it high above his head as rage overcame his senses. _A Jedi pursues no path of vengeance._ No one would strike his master down. With a battle cry roaring from the depths of his young throat, Obi Wan flew at his enemy and swung with all his might.

Darth Maul had not been expecting the attack. He barely caught young Kenobi's blade with his own in time, the force of it knocking him back a step and snatching his balance. As he jerked to catch his footing, Obi Wan threw another ferocious hit, and while an attempt at simultaneous blocking and keeping himself upright was made, Darth Maul had no success against warding the edge of a saber that pierced deep into his side. He grunted hard, Sith-hardened eyes widening in frozen shock as his weapon deactivated and fell to the ground. Obi Wan was stilled with shock as well where he stood staring into the face of his aggressor, a face that had lost anger and contained only surprise. The pain had not yet reached him. Obi Wan almost unconsciously shut off his lightsaber, watching Maul spasm a bit from the feeling of the searing blade leave his body. His gloved hand fumbled for his wound, and he began to fall back.

Obi Wan watched him numbly, only noting somewhere dimly in the back of his mind that his Sith antagonist was about to stumble into the depths of the melting pit behind him. Dread had abated in his chest only a moment before renewing itself within him. He was horrified at what he had done. He had killed out of anger, out of hatred, out of revenge for prior atrocities committed. He had gone against the Jedi way to slay this beast, and in doing so, as he knew by the common views, he was no better than what he had defeated. Qui Gon would be disappointed…how could he bare that? Qui Gon…

Qui Gon!

Just as Obi Wan was beginning to snap back out of his trance, however, he suddenly felt a thud against the center of his chest. He looked down with a gasp at the black-gloved hand that was now clutching brutally into the fabric of his tunic, and his eyes slowly gazed up to find Maul's own eyes on him with a fury-clouded dizziness. Obi Wan pulled back roughly to try and break the hold, hands grasping instantly at the strong arm that had him and trying desperately to pry it off. Distantly, he could hear Qui Gon groan from behind him.

"Obi Wan…?"

Obi Wan panicked as Maul pulled him closer, close enough now for those horrible teeth to sink into his throat if they wished as he pulled the Jedi apprentice up to his face. He gawked pathetically, stiff from a fear he tried hard to combat as Maul hissed at him. "…maybe you'll _see_ now…" he growled from the core of his damaged stomach.

Obi Wan's eyes widened. Maul wavered and promptly, without warning, fell backwards into the pit, dragging the youngling Padawan with him. Obi Wan yelped loudly as he plunged into the darkness in the clutch of the monster that held him.

"Obi Wan!" he could hear Qui Gon's frightened scream around him as he toppled. He was only aware of a tangle of limbs and the air rushing around his form very quickly—the threat of his life coming to an end did not even have time to don upon him. Suddenly, there was a snap, and a terrible agony through his left arm.

"Obi Wan!" He heard Qui Gon's voice again, more commanding and determined coming from above him. As he looked up, he realized that he had stopped falling altogether. Somehow, he had managed to catch himself by the arm, but the terrible strain and anguish this caused on the limb was far from lost on him. He had caught not only the weight of himself, but also that of a now very much unconscious Maul, who, to Obi Wan's bafflement, he himself was clutching tight with the arm he was not dangling from. His frozen appendage had snatched out at his enemy in panic, and he now could not will it to move.

"Master!" he cried rather pitifully, gritting his teeth in distress when his arm felt as though it were breaking.

"Easy, Padwan, easy, I'll help you." He heard his master's voice full of concern and relief all at once. "I'm going to grab your hand. You're going to try and pull yourself up, do you understand?" Qui Gon's voice seemed much nearer, and Obi Wan tensed when he felt a hand touch the back of his straining wrist.

"Yes Master…" he uttered in pain, clenching his eyes shut.

Qui Gon's hands encircled his upper arm firmly and suddenly he felt a tremendous pull, which spurred in him an immediate urge to shove himself into the process. He scrambled his feet against the wall and found a slight footing, using all he strength to heave his form upward as well as his unwitting passenger. He felt Qui Gon's hands gripping alternately at his shoulders and clothes before powerful arms at last aided him sufficiently in tearing all three away from the depths of certain death and onto the hard metal floor in a sprawl. Obi Wan gasped and panted as he grabbed his throbbing arm, on his knees where he stared at the crumpled form of his stricken adversary lying before him.

"Are you alright, Obi Wan?" Qui Gon's breathless voice reached him as an arm came down around his shoulders.

"Yes…yes Master, I…" he nodded quickly and swallowed, eyes still transfixed onto Maul. He reached his hand out for the dropped lightsaber near him and picked it up, ready to finish the job.

"No." he felt his master's hand close over his, preventing him from unsheathing his weapon. Obi Wan looked to him with vastly curious eyes. "He is defenseless, Padawan, that is not the Jedi way."

"But Master—"

"You know that to be so, Obi Wan."

"But Master…" he continued nonetheless. "…What are we to…do with him?"

Qui Gon made a long pause, gently patting his apprentice's shoulder. "…He is important to us alive. He is our closest hope to uncovering the Sith lord that bid him here."

"So he is our prisoner?" Obi Wan relinquished his hold on the weapon, and slowly helped Qui Gon to his feet as the older of them clutched his shoulder painfully.

"Not if we don't find medical aid for him soon." Qui Gon answered through a wince. "Help me carry him."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Obdurate Heart – II**_

_Thanks so much to those who reviewed! I'm happy to know that I'm thus far well-received. Sorry about the length of the chapter, it's rather short this time around. It will get more interesting as it goes on. At least, I think it does. I could be bias, after all. _

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**"To have doubted one's own first principles is the mark of a civilized man."**_

_**-Oliver Wendell Holmes**

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To Obi Wan, the events following the battle were vague and blurred, like a hand waving over eyes in darkness. Inside, a part of him was warm from a sensation he heard uttered around as victory, but outside, he was oddly wary. That was to say, he knew that he should be in a celebratory mood…and yet that wasn't to say that he was not. Something bothered at the back of his mind as he accompanied his master and the young Anakin Skywalker to the medical bay. He knew that it had to do with the Sith apprentice that they were currently on their way to oversee, but he refused to fret over or question the decision his master had made.

"What happened? Did you kill him? Is he dead, Master Jin?" piped in the young boy's voice by Obi Wan's side, jarring him out of his thoughts.

"No, Anakin, he isn't dead." Replied Qui Gon calmly, with a small bit of joviality behind his tone.

"Well how did you defeat him?" the boy continued to ask excitedly.

"I didn't." Qui Gon said simply, and Obi Wan eyed him sheepishly at the wry smile he received. "That was my apprentice's handiwork."

Instantly Anakin's interest was transferred to the young Kenobi, hopping in step to keep up with the two swiftly traveling men. "You really beat him, Obi Wan?" Obi Wan was slightly offended to hear such disbelief in his voice.

"Yes. And very nearly myself as well." He muttered as he walked on, seeing the group of medical aids they were currently approaching.

"Master Jin," greeted a medic droid that came immediately to fuss over the master's wounded shoulder.

Qui Gon shooed it away with a hand and shook his head. "How is he? Will he live?"

The droid hovered back and began to relay the information it had obtained. "The detained Lord Maul has suffered a severe laceration to the intestinal track. Much of the damage has been repaired. The next few hours are crucial, but his chances of survival are probable if not definate."

"He is in the medical bay now?" Qui Gon asked with a nod.

"As we speak, sir."

"As soon as he is stable, I want him moved into a segregated holding room. Is that clear?" said Qui Gon, and Obi Wan listened back and forth between them intently.

"Yes of course, Master Jin." The droid extended its hands in compliance. "Shall we post guard as well?"

"Yes. Heavily." Qui Gon agreed. With that, he watched the droid depart, and turned back to Obi Wan with a smile and a sigh.

"…Is it safe to keep the enemy so close, master?" Obi Wan questioned with a slight swallow. They could easily send Maul to an imprisonment base whereupon he could be interrogated just as well.

"The enemy is all around us, Padawan." He assured. "Personally, I'm just glad that now there is at least one I can keep my eye on directly." As he said this, he led them back down the hall from which they had initially come. "…Does this trouble you so, Obi Wan? I sense something doubtful in that head of yours."

"It isn't your judgment I shy from, Master." Obi Wan felt compelled to make this clear straight off. "I am just…shaken from the incident, I suppose."

"You saved my life, Obi Wan. For that you have my gratitude." Qui Gon thanked as though suddenly being reminded of this fact. He placed a hand on Obi Wan's shoulder in something of a brotherly embrace.

"I certainly don't regret that." Obi Wan shook his head, then paused. "But Master, I…I fear I did not act solely with your best interest at heart. It was…it was anger that led me to slay Darth Maul."

"And I flattered myself to think it was your love for me." Obi Wan was shocked to hear mirth in his master's voice after a confession of such impure motives. He looked up to see the man smiling as always above him.

"Master, I wanted to kill him." The younger continued in a quieter tone, facing the floor. "I was not thinking of the evils that he committed, nor what he stood for. I thought only of what he had done to you in that moment, and that was the emotion I allowed to guide my senses."

"Obi Wan," Qui Gon began with a more somber tone. "You did everything that could be expected of you. I have asked you not to doubt yourself so brutally, young one. I am proud of you. I think it's high time you gave yourself a bit of credit."

"But I…"

"The war is far from over." Qui Gon interrupted. "I am sure there will be many more opportunities for you to prove yourself a failure, if that is your wish."

Obi Wan nodded solemnly and grimaced in embarrassment, not wanting to come off as so self-pitying. "You're right. I apologize."

Qui Gon chuckled slightly and urged his Padawan to follow as he kept walking. "I always am, aren't I? Come now. Senator Amidala wanted to speak with us."

At this, Anakin instantly popped back into the conversation, babbling in an animated fashion at Qui Gon's side about his own boyish concerns and plights. Obi Wan wanted to smile at the image, but his mind yet remained caught elsewhere. The war indeed was not over. And the capture of one Sith offender was certainly not enough to stop it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Obdurate Heart – ****III**

_Thanks for reviewing, guys, it's most appreciated. And thanks very much for continuing to read. I hope I don't disappoint you. I realize that some aspects of the story are a stretch, and will make you go, "….Whaaaat?" But, you know…I don't have the time or the ability to be perfect. I try and stay in character. Thank you thank you and thank you. :D_

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"Duty is the most sublime word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more. You should never wish to do less."_**

**_-Robert E. Lee

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"I want you to oversee him, yes." Qui Gon repeated, regarding his gawking apprentice with a bit of a pleased smirk.

"You aren't serious." Obi Wan said, shaking his head. "You aren't."

"What makes you doubt yourself so?" his master prodded, crossing his arms as he watched the younger lad start to pace.

"Master, I…I just wonder if it is wise. For myself, I mean, to be the one presiding upon his containment. It seems an unnecessary…awkwardness, being that I am also the one responsible for taking him down." Obi Wan explained as he rubbed a hand over his brow.

"Awkward? I was thinking rather along the lines of appropriate." Qui Gon countered. "Aside from that, I trust no one else to do so. Maul is a very wicked and cunning creature. If I should place my trust anywhere, it is upon your ability and your mind. And it will only be until he is in a proper condition to speak with an official to obtain information."

Obi Wan bit his lip, attempting to conceal his discomfort with this idea. He did not want to disobey his master, but the very notion of being responsible for the notorious Sith menace made him feel a bit lightheaded. It put quite a weight on his shoulders, and he wondered how Qui Gon could not see this. And it was almost humiliating when considering the perspective that this meant he would essentially be caring for a would-be Jedi-killer. "…Yes, Master…" he heard himself reply.

"Good." Qui Gon nodded again and paced a couple of steps to look out at the city, leaning slightly against the wall.

Obi Wan released a deep and silent sigh, resigning from the conversation for a brief moment to wander in his thoughts. This whole situation was madness in its truest from. Was he really expected to be in charge of this poisonous serpent? If so, he surely felt himself only a small and vulnerable rodent. "…Where is Anakin?" he brought up suddenly, just now realizing that, for the first time since they had found him, he did not sense the boy's presence nearby.

"Hm? Oh, I had him stay with the other younglings while I saw to my affairs. I thought it was about time the boy got to know a few Padawans his own age, all the same. I'm sure he's dazzling them with tales by now."

Obi Wan stalled for a long while, brow furrowing as he examined his own hand rather idly. "You…truly intend to train him then." He said this with due caution, as though fearing some eavesdropping passerby would scoff at the notion.

Qui Gon turned his attention to Obi Wan with patient calculation before offering him a gentle nod in reply. "Did you think I'd've changed my mind? …I don't want this to bother you, Obi Wan. I dearly hope that you know that."

"It is not for myself I am concerned, Master." Obi Wan shook his head and began to rub his wrist in a bit of nervousness. "I do not so easily forget the things the council said about this. I worry."

"I understand perfectly, I do." Qui Gon said reassuringly, though Obi Wan drew no reassurance from it. "You are torn. All your life you have been bred to listen to the teachings of the council, to respect their judgment and obey their will. At the same time, you have been taught to obey the teachings of your master without question, for he is in charge of instructing you on just how to serve this council. What are you to do when your council says one thing, and yet your master says another?"

Obi Wan was ultimately dismayed when Qui Gon did not continue on to answer that question. In his life, however, he should have learned by now that no grave answer comes so easily. "Yes Master. But…"

"But which do you choose, that's what you want to know." Qui Gon finished for him.

Obi Wan shrugged helplessly.

Qui Gon took a long look over the scope of his surroundings, taking his time as though it had no limit. "…It's quite the turmoil every man must face. Does he listen to his head? Or does he listen to his heart?" he decided, and Obi Wan resented the metaphor.

Obi Wan could only look up at him with an almost pitiful expression. "And which are you, Master?"

Qui Gon only smiled. "That's what you've really got to think about, Padawan." he allowed a hand to fall on the side of Obi Wan's neck. "Meditate on your anxieties, Obi Wan. They're threatening to consume you."

"Yes." He agreed dismally.

"Keep me posted, will you? I want to know the moment our prisoner awakens." Qui Gon stepped away.

"Of course, Master." He echoed back, feeling completely…

…dissatisfied.


	4. Chapter 4

**Obdurate Heart – IV**

_Thanks for reviewing, of course. I apologize that this chapter's so short; I promise they get to be rather long at a point._

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"What we see depends mainly on what we look for."_**

**_-John Lubbock

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"He's been stable now for a good ten hours."

Obi Wan nodded in reply to the guard that greeted him outside the chambers holding his current priority. Much of the medical bay had been destroyed, and therefore Maul had been moved to a quarters far more unusual than an average bay. It was a small, personal holding—a civilian enclosure on the grounds. Though it might have seemed something of an undeserved luxury for a convict, it was easily guarded and in plain view of all things should an escape have been attempted. "How many guards are posted?"

"Myself and ten others. Four at the back entrance, four at the front, and my post is inside along with the eleventh of us."

"Double that." Obi Wan ordered, and the guard hesitated, but agreed without question. "And he has not awakened?"

"No, and I wouldn't imagine so."

"Is he bound?"

"If he should leave his bedding at any time, an alarm will sound. Sensory barriers are all around."

Obi Wan thought about this a moment, but quickly shook off any unnecessary brooding that might pull him away from his task. "Alright then, I'll have a look at him…" Though he felt that a perverse statement. As though Maul were some prized trophy to be looked upon. He was not. He was a criminal and a scourge, and nothing that should be looked upon with anything but contempt. The guard led him quickly into the room and motioned towards the bed on which their incapacitated captive lay unconscious.

Obi Wan swallowed a bit as he observed the layout. Maul was unclothed save for the sheet over his waist and lay utterly motionless before him. He suddenly felt a little uneasy. He had expected to meet the image of a disheveled and weakened Maul, a previously imposing figure that was cut down and revealed as the mere man it was, only to have been greeted with the sight of an intact warrior that looked as though he were about to leap up at any moment. Even in a comatose state, he was an ominous thing to behold. Obi Wan was almost appalled.

However, he shoved away his petty discomfort as quickly as it came, refusing to be so wary of this clearly debilitated man. Maul was well muscled, he was sharp-toothed, he was adorned with ebony tattoos over the expanse of his blood-colored flesh and crowned with that row of deadly looking spikes, yes, but these were all images and nothing more. Guises to make him appear more than what he was, that was all. Obi Wan knew this. And yet, the intimidation he felt was somehow beyond that external imagery…he certainly didn't want to think about that at the moment.

"It's humbling to see such a fearsome beast brought down to such feeble terms, is it not?" uttered the guard in good humor.

"Quite." Obi Wan lied, clearing his throat and pondering as he observed the shallowly breathing creature. Darth Maul. Sith apprentice. Renowned; infamous, even, and just now was Obi Wan beginning to contemplate him. They had spent much time tracking and fighting against this revered combatant, but they knew relatively nothing of him. Only his affiliation, really, aside from his species. Perhaps that was for the better. He was of a poisonous breed in wanting of extermination—that of a mechanical Sith pawn. To try and think of him as anything but would only cause problems. Obi Wan released a sigh of discontent, wondering how much easier it could have been if he had simply killed him.

_"…maybe you'll _see _now…" _

Obi Wan rubbed his chin with the side of his finger and gnawed on the tip of his tongue a little, far from having forgotten the exchange between himself and this opponent during their fight. He was not even sure that he had heard his enemy properly, slurred as it had been, but he supposed if it had not been that, then what? And why? A sardonic quip from the back of his mind suggested that Maul had simply given him some enigma that could not be answered by any other, therefore giving himself a reason to be allowed to live so that the riddle might be solved. A more reasoning part of him told that, in his perceived dying moment, he had been delusional, and could have sputtered whatever clipped thought raced across his brain at that instant. The philosopher of him, however, wondered if perhaps there was more meaning behind those puzzling words, or at least that Maul himself thought there was.

Obi Wan quickly sneered to himself, eyes scanning dutifully over his prisoner before he quickly turned away. Whatever the case, it did not matter. He did not require to know the personal musings of a corrupted, evil soul. "When was it expected he would come out of this?" he asked the guard, feeling an urge of impatience without explanation.

"That remains unknown. The medic decreed a rough estimation between twelve hours and a day or more." The guard replied.

"It couldn't be longer than that…" Obi Wan said, glancing back at Maul. "…If it is said that he will awaken in no less than twelve, I don't doubt that in six there will be a threat of it."

"You place that much faith in his skills?" asked the guard after him in slight surprise as Obi Wan turned away.

"No," the young Padawan answered. "It's just that I've come to rather expect the worst of things."


	5. Chapter 5

**Obdurate Heart – V**

_Glad I'm still capturing interest! This chapter's a bit shoddy, it gets better, I hope_****

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"O God! can I not save  
One from the pitiless wave?  
Is all that we see or seem  
But a dream within a dream?"_**

**_-Edgar Allen Poe, A Dream Within a Dream

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Obi Wan gasped as he jolted upright, instantly scanning about the room in a frantic motion where he sat up panting from the night terror that had so suddenly vanished from his eyes. As the darkness of his room slowly began to materialize into familiarity, he released the tension in his shoulders and forced his breathing to become even once more. He wiped a hand over his face and found traces of sweat, bowing his head a little in shame. Was he still just a child frightened by his foolish nightmares? He knew that he shouldn't be, no matter how vivid the fantasy might have seemed. Even if he could still hear the haunting voices in his ears.

Looking towards the window, he could see that the light had yet to emerge, suggesting that it was very early morning he had been so rudely pulled from. It took him a moment to put things in their place. He was still on Naboo, with Qui Gon and Anakin, in charge of overseeing protocol for the detained Sith apprentice taken captive in battle. That was right, wasn't it? His dream had been different… It had started with the battle, of course. How could it not? He did not know why thoughts pertaining to that last encounter agitated him so very much. Again he was trapped watching Qui Gon face off with the deadly Darth Maul, tensing and whimpering like an eager pup with each perilous stroke of their sabers. That need to get to his master was overpowering. To fight by his side, to defend him from that cruel predator. He could not watch his master die, not while he could do something about. Obi Wan sighed gruffly and tossed his covers away, fumbling out through the dark haze to find his robe before slipping it on. Sleep seemed unattainable now. He may as well check in with the guards.

Obi Wan crept out from his quarters into the cool, tempered air, which set to work immediately lifting the perspiration off of his skin with a soft caress. He was grateful for the weather. He'd had his fair share of deserts and wastelands. In the crisp air of early morning, where the lights were still lit, though fading, and the chirp of the insects was beginning to weaken into a distant melody, Obi Wan desperately sought peace. There had to be some outward refuge from the echoes of agony in his mind. The images continued to flash in his head, refusing to be pressed back while his mind was still unstable from sleep. The battle. It was the same as it had been in actuality, up unto a point. Up unto the crux, that was, the turning point. As Obi Wan stood witness to the great clash, sanctioned by the energy barrier that separated him from his master's side, it was terror that gripped his heart this time as opposed to apprehension.

Block after block, thrust after thrust, spiraling into oblivion they were, and at last, in that moment when Obi Wan might have come to a haphazard rescue, when he might have been fast enough to fly into the head of things, Maul struck a fatal blow, spearing Qui Gon through the chest in a sickening crack. Obi Wan could hear himself screaming, his heart ripping promptly in two as the man who had taken him in—had been to him both a father and a brother—fell stricken from a mortal wound. His vision blared in crimson and he was in the fight without knowing how. The snapshots of the fight were unclear in Obi Wan's head from that point. Only battle cries, the occasional glimpse of saber glow, the explosion of blade hitting blade. When it came to the end of things, he felt a sick satisfaction in pure, carnal vengeance. He saw himself viciously parting Maul asunder with his sword, and the vile creature broke apart in shock, falling to his ultimate demise down the shaft of the pit.

Qui Gon was in his arms…

Obi Wan blinked a couple of times to erase the traces of tears he must have somehow shed while in slumber. The deep, fathomless sadness engulfed him, even now. He had not fully comprehended just how badly Qui Gon's death would have damaged him, but that surely couldn't have been the only aim of such a dream. Qui Gon had been cremated, as was the traditional means of parting. Obi Wan felt empty. And what's more, to the young Jedi's wonder, Anakin became his apprentice. Presently, Obi Wan had to chuckle. That simply would not have done. A master? At his age? Training _Anakin_? Anakin would have hated him…He knew that the boy held him in no positive light as it was. Qui Gon was his hero, not Obi Wan.

He shuddered once more as he approached the heavily guarded sanctum of his quarry, reminding himself that this was only a dream, and none of those things he saw were real. After all, something truly must be wrong with a man who seeks a safe haven from his fantasies in reality. Smirking slightly at the thought, Obi Wan looked up to find himself at the front entrance. To his astonishment, however, he found no watchman posted outside… He balked in horror and froze for a moment, whipping around repeatedly to look for the guards that should surely be there. Deeply disturbed, Obi Wan went quickly into the room and scanned about. The nightshift guards were not there, at least not those posted to the fore and inside. Instantly his focus went to the bed, but when his frantic eyes found it…

There was Maul, lax and lifeless as he had been that afternoon. Somehow, he had expected disaster. Guards slaughtered on the floors, the room in utter disrepair—something to that effect. And yet, all was calm. If such was the case, why were the guards not nearby? Obi Wan hopped purposefully into the room, taking one more look around before carefully sorting out the shadows and coming near the bed with a pensive expression. Had they really left him unguarded? Even in the dark, his stark red was prominent and the rustle of his husky breath displaced the air around him. His eyes fixed onto the rhythm of his chest rising and falling, his mind filled with a disturbingly murderous image. In his dream, he had killed Maul. Cut just below that chest, and watched as the pieces fell. Obi Wan rubbed a hand over the top of his head uneasily, eyes traveling to the cloth that currently made Maul a modest creature, along with concealing his wound.

He wondered, briefly. He wondered just how grave that wound looked. He remembered sinking the blade deep, but he had not actually seen the damage. It must have been rather deep, for he had been sure that the infliction was fatal. Steeling his nerves and letting his curiosity win out, Obi Wan leaned over a bit and took down the barest corner of the cloth, peering at whatever mutilation lay beneath. His brow furrowed when he saw a ridge of seared scarring, melted flesh dried and hardened over to create a terribly painful looking mark. Entranced, Obi Wan pulled the cloth back further, eyes widening a bit as the entire scar was revealed. He took only a moment to gawk before quickly covering the wound again, pulling back a little to mull over this. Maul would be raving mad about that scar, undoubtedly. And he knew just who gave it to him.

Obi Wan sighed and continued to study the body, almost as though it were some specimen of a rare, dying organism. Those tattoos, covering his form in its entirety. Was all of this really for the factor of inspiring fear? The majority of these markings were never shown. Well, whatever purpose they might have served once, it most likely was lost to Sith infection all the same. He bent over to study the crooked patterns on the region of the chest, puzzled. The designs were so very intricate. He knew of Maul's species, he had encountered them many times before. The Zabrak. A horn-headed species that often took pride in showcasing various artful tattoos with their bodies as canvas. He had never seen those with Maul's like, however. None so extensive, that was. They were clearly of superb quality as well. The ink was immaculate in all places, and the skin was in no way harmed for it. No texture, even. Experimentally, he prodded a finger into one of the stripes that grazed a right pectoral.

Obi Wan's breath suddenly cut to a halt, and the room, though silent before, became immediately deafening in its soundlessness. He stiffened like a pricked cat and let his mortified eyes rest upon the hand—that was gripping his wrist. He couldn't bring himself to a logical thought. Not that he should move, or pull away. His gaze urged upwards despite an inward protest, orbs of shocked blue meeting the sudden heat of wide-open smoldering vermillion. Maul's eyes were a mix of muddled confusion and anger as they bore demandingly into Obi Wan's, seemingly torn between intent to kill and the desire for answers.

Obi Wan stared mutely, lips parted just slightly in alarm and his own body useless to pull away. What could he possibly say? Or do?

Maul let out a garbled, rough cough, narrowing his eyes hard. "…J-edi…rodent…" came his thick hiss, confused as though identifying this man merely for his own benefit.

Obi Wan could only manage what sounded to him like a squeak.

Maul winced at the sound in revulsion, his expression vague and indiscernible under the darkness and the way of his facial tattoos.

Obi Wan suddenly kicked his sanity into drive, and he snatched Maul by the shoulder, pushing him down hard before jerking his other hand free and placing it over the patient's forehead. "Sleep." He ordered.

A slurred growl made it past Maul's throat as his hand fell limp and his eyes slowly draped closed, having no choice in the matter. Obi Wan jumped back and stepped away, letting out an unnerved sigh. He could hear voices coming from behind him.

Obi Wan whirled around as a few of the guards entered the room, talking to one another in muttered voices and stopping dead when they saw the young apprentice in their path.

"Kenobi?" One of them sputtered, and Obi Wan made a face.

"_Where_ were you?" he snapped incredulously, and the guards all looked to one another.

"What brings you here so early?" the same guard interjected into the situation.

"I'm not speaking for my own sake, I asked you where you were!" Obi Wan said this with more bite than he'd meant to, but his nerves were still a tad shaken.

"I apologize..." Came the answer, seeming very confused.

Obi Wan snorted in exasperation. "Is that all? Who authorized you to leave your post?"

"W-we were told that the subject in question would not be awakening for as much as another day or so." The guard attempted to assuage, looking quickly between Obi Wan and Maul's slack form in surprise. "Why were the night shift guards not stationed?"

"The night shift?" Obi Wan paused for a moment. Were they so unorganized? Did they not know when their shifts began and ended? "Do you have any idea how dangerous that man is?" Obi Wan came closer to them, thrusting an accusing figure back at Maul. "He is not a prisoner for any frivolous crime. He is not captive for any nonviolent transgressions, you were not instructed to safeguard this area under flippant terms, gentlemen, do you understand that?"

"Of course." The guard nodded swiftly.

"Then get back to it." Obi Wan groaned and slapped a hand over his face as he hurried out of the room, now worrying more over this task than ever.


	6. Chapter 6

**Obdurate Heart – VI**

_Sooo__, things are starting to happen now, eh? Let me know if you think the progression is too slow. Thanks so much for the reviews, and reading, even if you aren't reviewing. _

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"Time will explain it all. He is a talker, and needs no questioning before he speaks."_**

**_-Euripides

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"Sir!"

Obi Wan jolted as his door shot open, spilling in two young looking guards that seemed a tad out of breath. "What is it?" he asked, standing quickly to meet them. It felt odd to be addressed as 'sir', he wondered if he should ever get over that.

"We were sent to retrieve you straight away. The prisoner has awakened, and the others, they—said that you were the one in charge and—"

"Awakened?" Obi Wan put a hand to the side of his neck and blinked a couple of times. This was not a good thing. Surely Maul, in even his worst cunning, could outdo those guards in a matter of minutes judging by their behavior the previous night. "When?"

"Moments ago, Sir. He's demanding answers; we thought it best to have you explain this to him."

Or to put him in the line of fire, he supposed. Swallowing heavily, Obi Wan nodded and quickly followed after them.

As soon as Obi Wan came to the scene, he noted that it looked very much like the war he had faced just a day prior. Guards were scattered all around, armed with blaster guns and clearly ready to open fire should the slightest thing go awry. It was always a hostile situation with a Sith, he shouldn't have expected less.

"He's just in there." Informed a guard as he approached, and Obi Wan felt a pulse of frustration. Where else would he be?

As Obi Wan marched into the room, he eyed first the two guards that were posted on either side of him, weapons raised and pointed at Maul in the case that he decided to twitch. He turned towards the bed and stopped a good distance away from it, erasing any nervousness from his face into a stoic expression as he gazed at Maul. Their relative hostage was livid, raised up on one elbow with a hand weakly clutching his injury and his breathing labored. When he saw Obi Wan, it seemed as though something in him snapped. "_You_!" he snarled out, surprisingly strong for someone who didn't even have the energy to sit up properly.

"My name is Obi Wan Kenobi." Obi Wan stated primly.

"I don't _care_ who you are…" Maul's eyes darted around the room quickly. "Where am I? What is this?"

"You're still on Naboo." He returned calmly.

"_Why_?" Maul hissed back.

"You are currently our prisoner, so I don't think that puts you in a place to ask questions. If you'd calm yourself for a moment, perhaps things would be explained to you." Obi Wan said. Classically a Sith trait. Unable to control their ridiculous anger, spurred into tantrums the very instant things did not go their way. The predictability somehow tamed his nerves.

Maul growled loudly and bore his teeth, the sound broken a little by occasional panting. "Then speak, Jedi."

"I'm sure you can guess the reason as to why you're here. We've accommodated you quite well thus far. In addition to that which you've already been granted, we are also willing to offer you a comparatively lenient sentence, in exchange for information." Obi Wan relayed, knowing that this was sure to go over poorly.

"…So you want something from me…" Maul paused, the anger leaking out of him a bit and a disgusted sort of sneer tugging at the corner of a lip for just a second.

"That's right, Lord Maul." Obi Wan confirmed placidly with a nod. "We want something from you. But don't mistake that want for need. We are ready and willing to send you to the most rancid holding facility this side of the galaxy without your cooperation."

Maul stretched his neck to the side a little and glared into Obi Wan cruelly. "How very generous of you. And what is it I'm promised provided that cooperation? The most rancid of facilities on the nicer side of the galaxy?"

Obi Wan only paused, taking in that statement resentfully. He certainly did not appreciate that wicked sort of humor, for it suggested nonchalance. This would be a most disappointing task if Maul was truly unwilling to divulge a single truth, whatever the benefit to his own plight it may earn.

"Use your head." Maul continued in a rough bark. "Look at what I am. I'd sooner throw myself into a sarlaac pit than aid the Jedi."

_Perhaps something of that nature could be arranged._ Obi Wan thought sarcastically. He had to admit, it would be somewhat satisfying a thing to watch. He quickly reprimanded himself for being so morbid, however. "We're not asking for help, Lord Maul. We're offering it. If you don't want to take it, that's your prerogative."

"We. You continue to use the word 'we'. I see only one." He growled back, attempting to shift into a more comfortable position, but unable to move much.

"I speak on behalf of the Jedi council." Well, that was a bit of a bluff. He spoke on behalf of an authority Qui Gon had granted him, but why be meticulous about it?

"You?" Maul scowled. "Precious. You represent an order that allows its vital affairs to be charged by children."

Obi Wan felt a thrum of annoyance. Maul was not much older than he himself, if not very much the same age. "Why my lord, what makes you believe that you are a vital affair?" he quipped, hiding an inner smirk.

Maul radiated a wave of hot anger, eyes searing into the young Jedi across from him. _How dare you_ Obi Wan thought that stare said to him, and he looked back towards his prisoner with calm calculation. Maul rose up a little and the guards around Obi Wan moved their blasters to follow the movement, making the Sith apprentice hesitate. Maul bore his teeth again and glared daggers into Obi Wan. "I've had enough of this. Take me to your damned holding cell."

Obi Wan was a bit surprised and dismayed to hear that. Not only did it mean that Maul was final in his decision to remain silent, but rarely did he come across a prisoner that was so willing to leave their holding room—let alone one this nice—in exchange for prison. Not to mention while weak and wounded. Then again, Maul was of a different breed of criminal. He cared about nothing and no one, perhaps not even himself. "You aren't going anywhere just yet." Said Obi Wan pointedly. "Not in that condition." And he knew that he should also give the brooding prisoner a chance to reconsider his choice, as unlikely as that may have been.

Maul reacted like a provoked dog, fury outwardly visible at the inclination that he was weak. "Obi Wan Kenobi." He said suddenly, and the mentioned man was slightly shocked. Maul gave a lengthy pause and half-collapsed down on the bed with a painful shudder. "I shall remember that name…"

Obi Wan blinked a few times and concealed a shiver, turning to leave the room. "That's more than I can say for yours…" he uttered to himself in the barest mutter, making his exit swiftly.

He kept his eyes low as he walked on, intent on finding Qui Gon so that he may report this incident right away. Much to his relief, his master had already been notified, and was near the holding room as soon as Obi Wan had made it out. "Obi Wan?" he greeted quickly.

"He's quite awake, Master." Obi Wan said to him with a nod. "But none too agreeable…"

"I wouldn't imagine so." Qui Gon patted his learner on the shoulder and glanced towards the room. "…I'm sure he'll talk in time."

"If you say so, Master." Obi Wan nodded in agreement. He himself, however, had a nagging sort of doubt about that.


	7. Chapter 7

**Obdurate Heart – VII**

_Sorry, another pretty short chapter here. A tad drabbling. Thanks for continuing to review!_

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"Regardless of how much patience we have, we would prefer never to use any of it."_**

**_-James T. O'Brien

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Obi Wan leaned his cheek into a fist as he peered out over the railing of his balcony, watching as the evening blurred into a soft blue around the edges of his world. The day had been no day of ease. Yesterday, Maul had awoken for the first time, and despite various attempts to persuade him into speaking, the prisoner had barely uttered a word. Qui Gon was ever patient, but Maul was not, and by the end of things, he had developed the utmost hatred for the Jedi master. Unwilling to furl himself into another pointless banter with Maul, Obi Wan had only stopped by but once this morning to ensure that he was indeed still breathing. Beyond that, he wasn't sure he cared to know much more. Let the guards see to his personal care, if they must.

In all honesty, he was trying very hard not to think about the situation. Not about the complications, the ironies, and certainly not about those cryptic four words that had marked his final encounter with the beast. He had already rationalized all possible meanings for that statement, so why was he still musing over it? Did it matter what he had meant? No. It was foolish to dwell on something that had no real pertinence in the immediate scheme of things. Obi Wan sighed and grunted, rubbing his forehead. Why, then, did he dwell? He ruffled a hand over his spiky auburn hair, his shoulders raising a little as he heard footsteps by his side. He registered the presence immediately as Anakin's.

"Hey Obi Wan." Said the boy casually as he pulled himself up onto the rail and perched to sit and watch the older Jedi apprentice.

"Hello Anakin." Obi Wan almost muttered, not looking at him.

Anakin looked around and leaned over to try and get a glimpse of Obi Wan's face, swinging his legs. "Whatcha doin'?" he asked probingly.

"…Just thinking, I suppose…" he answered.

"About what?" Anakin continued to press, and Obi Wan found himself missing the silent and obedient behavior that remained a standard for most youngling Padawans. "Are you thinking about Darth Maul?"

Obi Wan looked at Anakin now, a tad put off. "What makes you say that?"

Anakin shrugged. "Master Jin says that you're supposed to be watching him. You know, until they take him away."

Obi Wan nodded slowly. "Yes."

"So tell me how you beat him." Anakin demanded next. Obi Wan should have been expecting this.

"…I struck him with my saber." He replied simply, not really wanting to get into the details of things when he had, just moments prior, been trying to avoid this particular subject himself.

"I _know_ that." Anakin said in exasperation. "I mean how did you do it?"

"I don't think that's really the point. Do you?" he said, catching his tone just in time to stop himself from sounding terse.

Anakin didn't press for another while of silence, and he was tempted to hope that the boy had given up on his inquiries. "Why didn't you kill him, Obi Wan?" he asked, so very innocently.

Obi Wan clenched his hands around the rail he was leaning on and chewed his tongue. "Victory isn't about killing."

"I know." Anakin looked down, examining a shoe. "I just meant...since Darth Maul's evil, and since he killed so many people…well, isn't it better that you just kill him?"

"I don't know, Anakin." He replied honestly.

"_I_ would've killed him." He said in a matter of fact fashion, and Obi Wan was beginning to become irritated.

"That's fine, Anakin." He almost grunted. "If such had been the case, we might have no opportunity to learn who it is his services are loyal to."

"Doesn't look like you're gonna get that anyway." Anakin shrugged again and snorted.

Obi Wan looked to him with narrowed eyes, irked considerably by this point. "I'm not a killer. That's why I didn't kill him. Alright?" He said gravely, and this time when Anakin met his eyes, he didn't dare retort. The two were quiet for a long period of time after that. Obi Wan was unsure of what to say, wondering if he had been too quick-tempered, while Anakin was surely silent so as not to provoke another outburst. "Don't you…have somewhere you're supposed to be right now?" Obi Wan asked at last.

Anakin gave a short sigh. "Nope." A pause. "Don't you?"

Obi Wan returned with a longer sigh, gazing out at the blue that was slowly but surely melting into blackness. "…Nope." He answered. And really, he wished that were true.


	8. Chapter 8

**Obdurate Heart – VIII**

_Thanks for sticking! I hope it's not getting boring—as I read back through these chapters, there are elements that seem a tad repetitive. _

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**"Responsibilities gravitate to the person who can shoulder them."**_

_**-Tom Stoppard**

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It was the next day that Obi Wan at last decided he might see the condition of his prisoner for himself. After all, he supposed, he couldn't simply rely on the word of the guard forever. Such would be irresponsible. After yet another long conversation with a politically absorbed Qui Gon that afternoon, he was somehow—though rather bored—reaffirmed in his sense of duty. While aware that recent tides had brought a relative victory for the better cause, the galaxy was yet to be free of the grave perils that awaited it. Now was not a time for celebration, but a time for strategy, or so Qui Gon had worded it. Part of that strategy was dealing with Maul upfront, the subject at hand and their closest clue to discovering the identity and possible whereabouts of an ambiguous Sith Lord.

Obi Wan brushed off his robes a bit as he approached the holding room, meeting the guard out front with a nod of greeting. "Is he awake?"

"He's been as much for the past few hours." Was the reply. "He's been in and out of consciousness from the effects of the anesthetic, but now that he's gotten a bit of his mind back, he avidly refuses any treatment to his wounds."

Obi Wan sighed and shook his head. "Well if that's the way he wants to play it, fine."

"Are you going in to speak with him?" the guard turned a little as Obi Wan made a move to go past him.

"To see if he would be a bit more willing, yes. Is there a problem?" Obi Wan stalled a moment to listen.

"It's only that he hasn't exactly spoken. I'm not sure you would want to waste your time, he doesn't seem to be in the mood for it."

Obi Wan thought. Perhaps the guard was right, perhaps he was wasting his time here. That seemed to often be the case. "…No." he decided despite himself. "I'm growing tired of bending to his will. He is not a guest."

The guard nodded in agreement and watched as Obi Wan entered.

As Obi Wan went into the chamber, he noticed the air in the room getting tense. The guards that watched the prisoner immediately handled their firearms more readily, as though fearing the Jedi Padawan's appearance would send Maul into a sudden rage. Maul was lying on his side, arms sprawled out a little and eyes wide open to stare like a plotting cat out at the two guards that faced him from across the room. A traditional intimidation tactic, either because he felt threatened or because it was simply his way. The gaze slowly shifted to Obi Wan as he entered, hot and demanding.

"You're hoping that I've changed my mind." Maul uttered, not moving.

"And have you?" Obi Wan followed up quickly, though he was quite aware of what the answer would be.

Maul simply stared.

"The guard tells me that you have been denying treatment." Obi Wan continued on, already becoming fed up with this situation.

"He damaged a medical droid unit, sir." Noted a guard from the corner behind him. Obi Wan looked back to Maul with concealed irritability.

Maul hissed through his teeth and narrowed his eyes, his fingers coiling into the sheets. "That's a warning…if it gets near me, it gets destroyed."

"Are you really so blinded by Sith madness that you don't even have the sense enough to realize when someone is trying to help you?" Obi Wan allowed his frustrations to seep through just a little, but did well to keep his tone level.

Maul suddenly bellowed out a growl that made the guards go for their guns instinctively. "Don't _you _preach to me your fraternal tidings you weaseling pest. It was _you_ that put me here, don't think I've forgotten that." He forced himself to rise up a little, angry immediately.

"You are risking infection and illness for your pride." Obi Wan returned incredulously.

"Yes, Jedi." Maul gnarled back, dropping his head and glowering up at him through a face marred with sickly black tattoos. "But don't speak to me about risk, either. You yourself have risked more than you know simply by leaving me alive."

"Yes, that's becoming clear." Obi Wan said evenly against his whirling aggravation. _I've been goaded into wasting my time sitting for this maniacal madman…Is this not risking my reputation? Hah! There's your damn risk._ He quickly calmed himself, however, refusing to be dragged down to a Sith level no matter what the case. "Alright, Lord Maul. No more medics will bother you, you have my word."

Maul sneered back. The audacity of him passing these actions off as generous must have offended him, Obi Wan supposed. "I wonder. Is this penance for the way you defeated me? Is that why they've given you this task?"

Obi Wan was instantly alarmed. The way he defeated him? What was that supposed to mean? "No." he responded shortly. "But feel free to keep guessing."

Maul snorted and bowed his head, swallowing deeply. His hand traveled over his chest for a second as he looked down, eyes still searing. "If you're really in such an obliging mood, why don't you get me some damned pants?" he snapped suddenly, adjusting the cloth that lay over him.

Obi Wan felt himself go pale for just a moment. Why hadn't that been dealt with earlier? Well, how disturbing. "Yes…" he agreed, nodding to one of the guards.

Not appearing satisfied in any form with having gotten his way, Maul sat up fully, wiping his mouth with the back of a hand in a gruff motion. "And what else, Jedi?" he growled. "Or have you just come to admire your trophy?"

Obi Wan grit his teeth. That certainly was not how he felt about this situation. If anything, Maul was a blight cast upon him. "I felt it only fair to warn you, Maul, that when you recover, negotiators of a more professional nature will be meeting with you. You may want to reconsider your plight. They are your last chance."

Maul glowered, unfazed.

Obi Wan simply sighed. _Well alright. I've looked in on him. That's enough, isn't it?_ He reasoned to himself. "Suit yourself." He decided before turning and leaving the room.

"Sir," questioned one of the guards as he walked by. "What shall we do with him, sir?"

Obi Wan shrugged. "If he tries to escape, shoot him."

The guard paused as if to say something more, but instead merely nodded and allowed him to go on his way.

Obi Wan went to work as fast as he could with calming his stress, for he knew that circling around these thoughts too many times would rattle his brain beyond functional health. Maul was an obstinate man, that was for sure. Obi Wan could only hope that the council would not be disappointed in them for being unable to draw any answers from him thus far. It did get a bit under his skin, though, or as much as he would let it. There in their palm sat Darth Maul, a young man with perhaps the closest tie to the faceless Sith lord there was, a man who quite possibly knew the answer to every question they had, and yet there was simply no way to extract them. He was a box with the key locked inside. The only way to open it was to smash it open, but that would be rather tactless, wouldn't it?

Letting go of another soft sigh, Obi Wan went to his room to meditate.


	9. Chapter 9

**Obdurate Heart – IX**

_Moving along.__ Chapter's not short as crap this time. _:D

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"The mysterious is always attractive. People will always follow a vail."_**

**_-Bede Jarrett

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The more Obi Wan meditated, the more visions seemed to take hold over him. Just as the calm would stretch over his mind, banishing all anxieties and releasing all tensions, he would find himself lost in a pit of flashbacks to both reality and dream. This frustrated him immensely. He should be able to go about his day unbothered by things that had already or had in fact never happened. His dreams should not be so unsettling. Qui Gon had not died, Obi Wan had not been left alone, and the enigmatic Maul was safely in custody. Frivolous dreams and visions had never caused him so much anxiety.

As he went to pour himself a cup of herbal tea, he momentarily gave up on his quest to find some inner peace. There was really no point in beating himself to death about it, and yet, at the same time he wondered if his worries would do that anyway. Qui Gon had been participating in affairs that, when explained to his Padawan, seemed arduous and inane to comprehend, but suffice it to say that the two had not been much on interacting terms as of late. He did wish that his master were here to speak with. Qui Gon was the only man in the galaxy he would dare share his open thoughts with, and he couldn't help but feel the need to do just that. Perhaps he knew how to achieve a deeper level of insight that would allow him to at last control his nerves. Qui Gon, however, was content in his confidence for his apprentice's abilities, so much so that it almost seemed as though he trusted Obi Wan to complete this given task plainly unsupervised. While his trust was warming, it was in no way something to draw aid from.

Obi Wan gulped down his tea in a hurry and then sat in a chair, now with nothing to do but think when simply meditating was such a difficult thing. Four words haunted his thoughts. _Maybe you'll _see_ now_. Maybe you'll see, maybe you'll see. He did not know what Maul thought it was he should see. It should not matter, but he was so very puzzled by the inclination that it might, to at least one. He rubbed his chin uneasily and slouched back into his chair. He was a fool, he knew this. No other self-respecting Jedi would allow such a flippant comment to offset him so. He wondered just how much longer Maul would remain under his 'care', if it could be called that. It couldn't be much longer. This event had to rank as rather dire on the scale of the Council's affairs. Maul should be questioned soon and taken quickly thereafter to whatever imprisonment his crimes entitled him to. Obi Wan just hoped that his stress over this situation could be taken away as easily.

However, there was something to be said for that which concerned him. What if when Maul was taken away, those anxieties remained? What was he to do then? He wanted answers to questions that he could not fathom, and there was really no source to obtain them from. It disturbed him to think that this would bother him indefinitely. Distressed and fed up with having nothing but his thoughts to deal with, Obi Wan decided that he would visit his prisoner for a second time today. It was diligent, if he could convince himself it was out of anything but the longing for distraction. He walked a bit hurriedly. The guards had better be at their post this time, he decided.

As Obi Wan approached the first guard, he was met by an aura that exuded much more calm than it had in his previous visits. Clearly they were getting used to having Maul as their captive, having gotten past the reputed enormity of their prisoner's infamy to see him for the mortal man he was. He did notice, however, that there appeared to be more guards congregated outside than had initially been posted. "Sir Kenobi." Nodded the guard when he spotted the Jedi in training.

"Did you change numbers?" Obi Wan queried, eying about at the extra bodies present.

"No." the guard replied. "I was unsure if it warranted direct report, sir, but the prisoner's condition seems to be on a slight decline."

"Decline?" Obi Wan repeated, confused. "What do you mean?"

"He's been sleeping most of the day. His strength looks to be wearing." The guard clarified.

"Did you inform the medic?" Obi Wan asked.

"It wasn't thought to be as serious."

Obi Wan sighed. "Well has he been eating?"

There was a rather long pause in the guard's reply for Obi Wan's comfort. "I'm sorry sir, I don't know."

"You don't know?" Obi Wan furrowed his brow. "Either he has or he hasn't, is his tray empty or full when it's retrieved?"

"I'm not certain, sir…that is to say, we haven't brought anything to him." Came the reiteration.

"What?" Obi Wan stared at the guard for a moment. "You meant to say you haven't fed him today?"

The guard looked to one of his fellowmen for a brief moment in confusion. "Nor any other, sir."

Obi Wan gawked. "_Why_?"

"…We were never instructed to, sir."

"You needed _instruction_ to—" Obi Wan caught himself before he erupted in disbelief. "Am I to take from that that he hasn't received food or fluid since his awakening?"

"I don't know, sir." The guard replied helplessly.

Obi Wan quickly felt a cold pit of guilt in his stomach. This wasn't the guards' fault. It wasn't commonplace for them to oversee such affairs. The guards employed in the day could have only assumed that he was taken care of at night, if they bothered to wonder, and the night guard must have thought the opposite. How could he have been so ignorant? To not know that _all_ aspects of Maul's care fell directly under his jurisdiction? He had been too blind to bother contemplating _who _was taking care of these minor details, but he should have realized it sooner. It was supposed to be _him_. Those minor details such as why no one had bothered to give Maul clothes, or why the guards seemed to be so unorganized. It was simply because Obi Wan himself was lacking in his task. He instantly felt horrid. Not nearly as much for Maul's sake as he did for the sake of his neglected responsibilities, but horrid all the same.

"From now on I want him to be fed twice daily, and given water regularly, is that perfectly clear?" Obi Wan sputtered.

The guard nodded swiftly. "Shall I send one of the others to fetch something now?"

"No, I…I'll do it myself." Obi Wan rubbed his brow in stress and turned to find something suitable…

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This surely had to be the worst of his follies, he thought as he carried a tray of food and drink back to Maul's quarters. Why hadn't Maul said anything? Did he think he was deliberately being withheld nourishment to break his resolve? That was the most plausible reasoning. But surely Maul was knowledgeable of Jedi methods; he should not assume he was being intentionally starved. Well it didn't really matter what he thought, Obi Wan concluded as he went past the guards and entered the room, peering in.

There were no longer guards within the chamber. Only Maul, who was sitting up just a little on an elbow and glaring off aimlessly into space. His breath seemed a bit labored, and he very warily noted Obi Wan's presence, though a tad delayed in doing so.

"Lord Maul." Obi Wan nodded a solemn greeting as he approached.

Maul said nothing, only staring darkly as he attempted to push himself further up off the bed.

Obi Wan cleared his throat, eyes flickering down to the tray a moment before he came to the bed and set it down. "You have my sincere apologies, it was a mistake that you had not been fed."

Maul's eyes traveled to the tray, but locked back up to Obi Wan's indignantly. "What makes you think I want that?" he asked in a rumble.

Obi Wan hesitated. "…Your health is waning."

Maul narrowed his eyes, snorting a short chuckle of disbelief. "Your concern is touching."

Obi Wan was not impressed. "It is my duty to see that you return to full health."

"A grand job you've done of it so far." He grunted back. "In any case, I don't need your damn pity." He pushed the tray away with a hand.

"My reasons for this are far from pity. The faster you're well, the faster you can be dealt with." Obi Wan imparted quickly.

Maul swallowed in order to growl properly.

"There's no pride in suicide." Obi Wan continued bluntly. His nerves were strung again. What was he to do if the difficult prisoner refused to eat? Could he procure the means to force intake through intravenous methods? Would things really get that drastic? They needed answers, and Maul obviously had them. So he supposed they very well could if Maul insisted upon being so stubborn. "Please drink." He uttered at last.

Maul vibrated with resentment, but seemed to be satisfied at least with having made a Jedi plead. He slowly took the cup that was given and forced down a swallow that he, though hiding it, was clearly struggling with. "And what else?" he snapped immediately, staring at Obi Wan with impatient distaste. "Leave me."

"I shall take leave in time." Obi Wan replied. Truth be told, he wondered if staying around long enough would answer some of his inner quarrels, if only by accident.

"I didn't think it in a Jedi's nature to gloat." Maul returned haughtily.

"Gloating has nothing to do with it." Obi Wan replied.

"You're the same as your brethren. You're _proud_." Maul said this as though it were some scathing blow.

"A Jedi does not feel pride in his own tasks. Only fulfillment."

"He pretends to, yes." Maul countered, refusing to eat, or at least refusing if Obi Wan was going to watch him. "You're oh-so proud of your victory, aren't you? In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you requested this duty."

_If you only knew how wrong you were_. Obi Wan thought dully. "Despite what you think, I'm in no position to request my obligations." He returned levelly.

"And if you were?" Maul prodded, and Obi Wan was becoming quite annoyed with these questions.

"That is not important. My duty is my duty, and I will do it."

"Scripted. Rehearsed, like any Jedi." Maul snapped, lying back. "I almost expected an original response."

Original response? From him? Why—what did that mean? …Did Maul really see him as different from his fellowmen? The idea disturbed him greatly. He was fast to repress his sudden flutter of apprehension, however, irked with himself for being so on edge. "May I ask you something?" he uttered rather uncomfortably.

Maul scowled, but did not look over at him. "Don't patronize me. As if you truly desire my permission. If it were up to me, no. Get out of my chambers."

"They're hardly yours." Obi Wan denied, forgetting his question in his antipathy. "They're really more mine than they are yours. So if you'd like to end this conversation, you're more than welcome to leave yourself." Obi Wan bit his lip, regretting those words. He should not outwardly mock his prisoner, who could obviously not even sit up much less walk out, for it was childish.

Immediately he felt the anger rise in Maul, practically seeing his skin bristle. And yet, to his surprise, there was also a hint of something else lying in that emotion. Something that was almost like…gratification? He dismissed it and readjusted his stance, returning his expression to a blank calmness. "You're pathetic." Came Maul's belated reply, slurred.

Obi Wan said nothing, taking the comment in stride. It was the nature of a Sith to insult. Maul continued undeterred.

"All you are is an inept little chambermaid."

"You should consider yourself quite flattered, my Lord." Obi Wan said in an irritatingly sweet tone. "Most prisoners are not kept by Jedi knights. Perhaps you should take that as a compliment to your skill."

Maul's eyes gazed over at him with aggravation. "You? A compliment to _my_ skill?" he said this with disgust.

"I should think so, yes. My master is of the utmost esteem. Though I'm sure you understand this." Obi Wan explained casually.

"And so he pawns off his incompetent apprentice on tasks that are usually handled by medics and guardsmen. I see."

Obi Wan was stilled for a moment, instantly inclined to protest, but something holding him from doing so. …That certainly couldn't be the reason Qui Gon had placed him in this position. No. No, of course not. Qui Gon never had anything but good things to say about his Padawan, at least not that Obi Wan had heard when his master was so naturally forthright. But then why, exactly, was he doing this? Did Qui Gon really believe that Obi Wan was the only one fit to watch an incapacitated prisoner? He caught himself before he was stuck in a daze, however, unwilling to let Maul know he had struck a chord. "I don't think _I'm_ the apprentice who was abandoned." He said lightly.

Maul sneered, rolling his eyes and absently prodding at the wound in his side with a hiss.

"Perhaps you might think about allowing the medic to examine you. It is their purpose, after all." Obi Wan suggested.

"And you should be concerned in your own affairs." Maul snapped back, drawing his hand from his side.

"I'm afraid that does fall under my affairs." Obi Wan pointed out. "A medic will be examining you in the morning."

"Then a medic will be destroyed in the morning." Maul returned defiantly, and Obi Wan bit his lip.

"In that case, I'll have you appropriately restrained or sedated, Maul, it's really up to you."

Maul bore his familiarly jagged teeth and his eyes burned, greatly offended by that threat. "Why don't you come over here and take care of it yourself, coward? It was your hand that wrought it."

Obi Wan pursed his lips, frustrated that the idea of getting any closer to Maul did in fact make him nervous. "…Well whether you want it or not, your wounds will be cleaned and kept, starting tomorrow." Was all he could think to say.

"Why do you insist on badgering me?" Maul demanded.

"It's common hospitality to see that you are well." Obi Wan uttered, though his tone was bordering on sarcastic. With that, he turned and left sharply, able to feel a pair of smoldering reddish eyes on the center of his back as he went.


	10. Chapter 10

**Obdurate Heart – X**

_Thanks guys, I appreciate the comments. Maul didn't offer a whole lot on his character, you know? But hey, I try. I'm actually surprised that there are such a number of people who are a fan of this couple. But then again I shouldn't be—this is Star Wars after all, there's a fanbase for _anything _here. :)_

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"You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it." _**

**_-Margaret Thatcher

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The next day, Obi Wan was hesitant to even think on what he would meet upon checking in on his prisoner this day. The previous night, he had lulled himself to sleep only with the self-assurance that Maul simply must be healing soon, and would be taken from his care never to be seen again. This morning, however, dread crept in on him. Something was bound to go awry before Maul was taken—for he would be fully healed and intact before that could take place. He was surely plotting something this very moment. Instead of worrying over it, however, Obi Wan knew that he should be determined to stop it from happening. Qui Gon had placed faith in him, and so he must place faith in himself as well.

Obi Wan groomed and dressed quickly that morning, going yet again to face his stubborn prisoner and this time confident in handling this foolish affair with dignity. When he reached the holding room again, he was instantly met by a guard who was eager to report, likely in retrospect of the night prior. "Good morning, sir." He greeted.

Obi Wan nodded. "Anything to report?"

"Nothing major, sir. The medic attempted to examine him this morning, but as could be expected, he protested this. He did allow a few moments of it, but seemed to change his mind." The guard relayed.

"Was the droid damaged?" Obi Wan asked in exasperation.

"Not severely." He answered.

"Has he been fed?"

"Ah…yes sir." The guard made a long hesitation, and Obi Wan furrowed his brow.

"What is it?" he pressed.

"It's been given to him, but he hasn't eaten it." The guard clarified.

Obi Wan shook his head, not surprised, but fed up and set to settle this once and for all. He went past the guard and came into Maul's room forcefully, staring accusingly at the figure on the bed. The tray from the night before was on a bedside table, untouched, and the new one for the day at hand still sat near Maul on the bed. It was also full and free of consumption. Obi Wan narrowed his eyes.

"Good of you to visit." Maul snarled quietly, glaring at his intruder with contempt.

"The guards tell me that you still refuse to eat. That you went against instruction and again warded away medical attention."

"What is the complaint?" Maul leaned up on his elbows. "Is that not doing their job?"

"Is it that you're indifferent to your own life, or is it that you simply wish you had been killed?" he tossed out a small shrug, despising this ridiculous bickering.

"Killing me would have been easier for you, yes." Came the answer, as though Maul had casually been waiting for their arguments to pick up again. "But I'm not about to make anything easy for you. Yes, I know you wish you had killed me. I intend on solidifying that regret."

"So that's what you've been reduced to?" Obi Wan responded in a calm tone, but his eyes betraying that tone. "You're entire purpose now is to be a spoiled child?"

"Forgive me if I'm not up to combat and cartwheels, someone delved a saber into my organs." he hissed back sardonically, and for a moment the two men stared at one another in a heated, boyish fashion. "Aside from which, if this is the only way I can fight the Jedi at the moment, then so be it."

Obi Wan quickly shook off his scowl and steadied himself before responding. "You don't understand, do you?" He said, idly brushing off a sleeve. "Look around you. Think about where you are. Your fight with the Jedi is over."

Maul curled a lip. "My battle ends with my life, and I live yet."

"Not for long if you're convinced that starving yourself is your only way of combating us." Obi Wan felt himself gaining an upper hand. Gathering his courage, he boldly came forward and leaned over the empty side of the bed, not noticing when Maul jerked back. He took a piece of fruit off of the tray and shoved it at his prisoner demandingly.

Maul looked down at the fruit for a stilling moment before he suddenly reached out and snatched the offending arm, pulling Obi Wan down closer in a gruff movement. Obi Wan froze, his courage instantly gone. His arm hurt terribly, being that it was also the same arm from which, a few days before, he had used to catch himself and his prisoner on a ledge. Maul's grip was hard and unforgiving, his eyes dark with a foreboding threat that made Obi Wan feel fully the stupidity of his actions. He only swallowed deeply.

"You'll wish that you killed me, Jedi…" Maul growled closely. He tightened his grip, and Obi Wan struggled not to cry out. "Do you understand how petty your 'hospitalities' are? That high and mighty little air of yours…look how easily it can be crushed." Again the hand tightened.

Obi Wan grit his teeth hard, trying his damndest to glare back at him. "I'm not a killer. That is not the Jedi way." he said indignantly.

"That is the _quintessence_ of the Jedi way." Maul growled back, pulling him down closer. Once again Obi Wan felt that disturbing paranoia that Maul was going for his throat.

"We do not kill unless it is a necessity. Not even for you." Obi Wan bit his lip hard and turned his head as he felt Maul twist his arm to an agonizing point.

"Don't try and convince me that this is generosity. That this is care. That it is even mercy or compassion. This is _protocol_. The only reason you did not kill me is because there was a trivial _rule_ standing in your way. You followed that rule as opposed to your own common logic, if indeed you have any left. That was a stupid mistake on your part. How many more stupid mistakes will you make?" Maul continued. "Or will this be your last…?" he smirked ominously and tightened his grip yet again.

Obi Wan's shoulders tensed as he forced back a whimper, slowly bringing his eyes back to Maul's and staring hard. "…break it…" he whispered. There was a long pause between them. "…see if it earns you anything."

Maul's eyes narrowed.

"Then let go." Obi Wan ordered with a wavering confidence.

Maul let the moment stretch, searing Obi Wan's blue eyes with his own cruel ones before sneering and wrenching his wrist one more small time, then let go.

Obi Wan did cry out this time, pulling away once released and scrambling back a ways before staring mulishly at Maul and cradling his bruised wrist against his chest. Maul looked back with a glowering satisfaction, eyes moving back and forth in a twisted dance between Obi Wan's arm and his face. "Is that pain in your eyes, Jedi? Or does a Jedi feel pain?" he crowed.

Obi Wan began to cope quickly with the throbbing in his arm, fast to harden his gaze again and unable to hide his relative anger.

Maul grunted in reply. "How pitiful you are."

Obi Wan still stared him down, shame burning in his cheeks as he knelt grasping his twisted limb.

"Stop your sulking." Maul bit at him through the silence, apparently having expected a retort at this point.

Obi Wan drew up a little, biting his tongue hard as he came forward again and fumbled his uninjured hand to grasp another piece of fruit from the tray. He again shoved it at Maul, his eyes daring and his resolve firm. Maul blinked down at Obi Wan's hand, momentary confusion and surprise passing onto him at the sheer tenacity. His eyes went back up to meet Obi Wan's, incredulous and disgusted. "_Eat_." Obi Wan said forcefully.

Maul took several looks between his caretaker and the hand that was thrust at him. Brusquely, he snatched the fruit out of Obi Wan's hand and tore a side of it off in his teeth.

Obi Wan pushed himself back onto a knee, one leg still hanging off the edge of the bed as he wiped a wrist across his brow.

"Do you tell me that you are really apathetic to this affair, Jedi? Are you not humiliated? Do you enjoy this responsibility now?" Maul asked, swallowing.

"No." Obi Wan answered decidedly. "You want me to admit that? Fine. I don't enjoy it. There's no rule that says I've got to like this."

"Oh and that is all you're concerned with." Maul returned with a loud rumble. "You've got to have a _rule_ to tell you what you may feel."

Obi Wan hesitated, one brow rising as he slowly sat back on his leg. "…Jedi training is not about choosing what to feel. It is about controlling how you allow your thoughts to affect you. You do your duty despite what you might feel."

"I suppose blind slavery does have its benefits. If you're in the sovereign." Maul sank the tips of his teeth into the fruit and chuffed in reply.

"A Jedi is no slave. We have a choice." Obi Wan countered, but Maul was obviously unmoved. "Sith loyalty is slavery." He added. He looked down at the bed for a moment before drawing away from it.

"But unlike the Jedi, it does not wear a mask of divinity."

Obi Wan set his jaw tightly and shook his head. He wasn't about to be taken down to the level of debating _morals_ with a Sith. The very definition of a Sith was the absence of morals, so to be judged based upon such _by_ one was ludicrous to say the least. "Very well, Lord Maul." He uttered as he turned away. "In any case, I'm sending in another medic to have a look at you—with restraint if you must have it."

"So much for that word of yours, I suppose." Maul growled back, staring at his keeper with evil vehemence.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean." Obi Wan turned halfway to look at him again.

"I told you before that I refuse your damn medics. You thereafter gave me your word that none would bother me. I shouldn't expect a filthy Jedi to live up to his promises." Maul narrowed his gaze hatefully.

Obi Wan sighed again and stared at Maul bluntly. "I don't expect you to identify with my plight, Maul. Just as you're aware I have no intention of identifying with yours. My duty is to see that your health returns. It is not to please you. I apologize if this upsets you, but I'm not sorry." He stated curtly.

Even as Obi Wan explained this, a medic droid accompanied by four guards was entering the room. They looked to Obi Wan, who nodded in consent, and then they descended upon Maul and his treatment. Obi Wan took a few steps back and watched the scene cautiously should some reason arise that he was needed to intervene. He watched as the guards firmly and methodically took hold of each arm and pinned him to the bed by chest and shoulder, the other two taking him at the legs and seeing that his struggle was maximally impaired. The prisoner was instantly set into an instinctive fight, jerking his limbs and snarling at them through loud outbursts of protest. Obi Wan observed the hot, unbridled anger that seeped from him in tidal waves, reducing him to nothing but a feral, battling animal under those that held him. Even though the struggle was worthless and petty, and hindered by a crippling wound that he was only making worse, Maul let his pride win over all things.

Obi Wan took it all in with an attempted impartiality to the affair, but as he listened to the furious howls and watched Maul tear at his restraints so very desperately, as though everything in his world depended on preventing their actions, he couldn't help a very small, ill sensation in the pit of his stomach.


	11. Chapter 11

**Obdurate Heart – XI**

_I'm glad you've all enjoyed thus far! I hope things aren't going too slowly. I'm starting to wonder about the next few chapters though—let me know first thing if you think it's getting mundane or boring. Thanks!_

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"The average pencil is seven inches long, with just a half-inch eraser—in case you thought optimism was dead."_**

**_-Robert Brault

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"Obi Wan, what has come of your arm?"

Obi Wan shook off his daze quickly and met Qui Gon's eyes before hurriedly searching down at his bandaged wrist. Self-consciously, he felt a hand over it and cleared his throat. "I…believe I rather allowed Maul an opportunity I shouldn't have."

"Well are you alright?" his master continued as he surveyed the damage with his own eyes.

"It isn't anything serious." Came the reply, and Obi Wan hid the arm back down at his side in shame. "It should not have happened. It will not happen again."

Qui Gon hesitated for a moment and nodded slightly, scratching his beard. "It concerns me that he shows violence towards you."

"With all due respect, Master…what else could you have expected?" Obi Wan pointed out, turning to look over the same railing he had been standing by a few days prior. He found that coming to such secluded places did his thinking some good. Little had he expected his master to already be here on this occasion.

"I didn't say that it surprises me." Qui Gon said. "Only, that it concerns me. You know Obi Wan, I've been thinking about this. Have I put upon you something that you don't feel up to handling?"

Obi Wan blinked a few times and let his mouth fall open a ways, trying to come up with some reasonable answer. He couldn't admit to something like that. He was not incompetent. He couldn't let Qui Gon down. He asked of him such simple things. Even if truly, despite how he would justify it, he did not like this particular task in the slightest. "No, Master, of course not. I will do what you would have me do, nothing less." He assured quickly.

Qui Gon did not press the matter further. "Alright then. In that case…might I ask how it's going? Aside from that, naturally." He made a slight gesture towards Obi Wan's arm.

How was it going? How _was_ it going? Obi Wan didn't know how to answer such a question. In his opinion, it was going nothing if not terribly, but he didn't want to put it as all that, especially when the reasons were completely his fault. "It goes fair, Master…"

"I see." Qui Gon said with a bit of a smile. "And I don't suppose he was any more inclined to lean in our favor?"

"Certainly not." Obi Wan shook his head and peered over the railing again, rubbing his bruised wrist. "Though…he did seem willing to toss politics of sorts."

"Nothing diplomatic, I'm assuming." Qui Gon said knowingly, studying his apprentice in a calculating manner.

"Well it is only to say that I did not expect him to speak to me, barring insults and death threats. I'm not entirely sure how to combat that issue." Sighed the young Jedi, professing himself freely, as Qui Gon was the only one privileged to hear it.

"So why combat it?" Qui Gon opposed as he joined the other's side.

Obi Wan furrowed his brow. "I'm not sure I know what you mean."

"I don't think it's a crime just to _talk_ to a criminal." Qui Gon argued back casually. "If he is so adamant about speaking, perhaps you should engage him. You might even be able to hound out some kind of information, don't you think?"

Obi Wan paused for a long while as he thought about this. Shouldn't he be supremely averse to debate anything with a Sith? The Sith were infamous for an ability to weed into one's mine and corrupt it with some wicked persuasion. And Qui Gon was suggesting that he offer ample opportunity to do just that? That kind of reliance could be as damning as it could empowering. "Are you certain that is wise, Master?" he asked.

"Your mind is firm, Obi Wan. I trust you to do well in all things, especially the more challenging of them. Whatever the case, you cannot disappoint me. Unless of course you consider yourself liable to turn to the Dark Side over this." He jested dryly. Obi Wan gave him a look. "All the same, I feel that you have a power to exert over him more so than any other."

"And what power would that be?" Obi Wan queried warily.

"The power to enrage him the furthest." Qui Gon nodded. "He knows it was you who defeated him, and likewise I'm sure he rather resents that you are in charge of his captivity. He has reason to despise you more than any of us."

"Comforting." Obi Wan swallowed.

Qui Gon chuckled lightly and continued. "While anger is a dangerous emotion, it can also be a helpful one. Perhaps he will divulge to you something that, in a composed state of mind, he would be wise enough to keep secret."

"Yes, I suppose you're right, Master." He nodded slowly. It was worth a try, wasn't it? After all, what would Maul say to negotiators? Those to whom he had no personal attachment with? Whether he liked it or not, he was already the closest to Maul, and had done as much completely unbeknownst to himself.

"Anakin's been asking about you." Qui Gon noted in a seemingly arbitrary fashion.

Obi Wan looked over at him. "…About me?" he repeated.

"Yes, actually. Believe it or not, the boy is more fond of you than you think. He continuously asks me if you're finished with your task." Qui Gon informed with a sigh.

"I'm sure he just wants to know about Darth Maul. He's curious for trouble." Obi Wan decided after a brief period of thinking.

Qui Gon shook his head. "He said that he spoke to you the other day, and that you were rather in a sour mood."

Obi Wan lowered his head slightly in guilt. "Well I…I didn't mean to be." He confessed. In truth, he hadn't meant to treat the boy as a nuisance. It was just that…well that was exactly what young Anakin Skywalker had a tendency of being. His guilt receded a little at that thought.

"He wanted to learn the tale of Maul's defeat. I'm assuming that he asked you about it. I told him the story in great detail, but I think he'd much rather hear it from you." Qui Gon went on.

Obi Wan nodded distantly, heaving a small sigh himself. "Yes, I…don't see why I couldn't, some time." He submitted gently. "I haven't hurt his feelings, have I?"

"Oh, Obi Wan, don't fret about it." Qui Gon gave a kind smile, and then added sarcastically, "I'm sure he's quite used to you by now."

Obi Wan blinked at him and furrowed his brow.

"I'd best be on my way, Padawan. I'm going back to Coruscant in the morning to update the council on the situation and make plans for the negotiators. Master Yoda himself may even want to accompany." Qui Gon uttered as he stretched his shoulders back and suppressed a yawn. "In the meantime I have an additional task for you."

Obi Wan grimaced inwardly at the idea of another expectation on his shoulders, but insisted upon taking it without complaint. "Of course, Master."

"Learn to take a joke. And smile, once in a while. You're beginning to bring me down." He grinned and swiped a hand over his apprentice's head affectionately, making him duck a bit and glare at his master good-naturedly.

"I'll certainly try." Was Obi Wan's reply.


	12. Chapter 12

**Obdurate Heart – XII**

_Thanks for the kind reviews! This chapter is a little longer than the others. Enjoy, hopefully._

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"Wit is educated insolence."_**

**_-Aristotle

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"How is the prisoner this morning?" Obi Wan felt the words fall off of his lips mechanically by this point.

The guard replied with an optimistic attitude, glancing over a shoulder before speaking. "Better, for my opinion, Sir."

"And he's been eating?" Obi Wan queried hopefully.

"Yes, actually." The guard said in a tone that suggested he was rather surprised over this turn of events.

"How did the examination turn out yesterday?" Obi Wan pushed still.

"His wounds were redressed and mended again. He worked himself into quite the frenzy. But I don't have to tell you that, if memory serves me, Sir, you were witness to it."

"Yes." Agreed Obi Wan. Part of him was satisfied that Maul was regaining his health, but the other part was understandably anxious for the same reason.

Maul was semi-conscious when Obi Wan entered the room. He lay on his back with his eyes closed, breathing slowly and gathered within himself as though he were concentrating on something. Obi Wan could sense a great aching coming from the body before him, and he wondered if Maul was trying to banish the pain or if this simply meant he was trying to sleep. Either way, as soon as Obi Wan made his next move, Maul was instantly alert, his shields up and the dull wave of pain that Obi Wan had felt cut off from him entirely. "What is it?" Maul sounded dispassionately annoyed.

"You can't tell me you aren't used to seeing me by now." Obi Wan returned.

"However expected, it is nonetheless impertinent." Maul spat back in resentment as he battled himself up onto an elbow.

"Come now, Maul, where would your frivolous insults go without my presence?" Obi Wan noticed himself behaving very cynically this morning. Somehow, he almost felt that Qui Gon would be proud were he here to observe it.

Maul gave him a dangerous glower. "Oh well you're so very considerate, you craven little Padawan dog." He sneered.

Obi Wan bristled slightly at that address. Padawan was a generally endearing and occasionally affectionate word when used among the Jedi, but on the lips of a Sith, it came off with mocking condescension. In truth, he was mildly surprised Maul even knew that word, much less used it correctly, however aberrant it was intended to be. "Compassion is the nature of a Jedi." He said almost instinctively.

"As is asininity, it would appear." Maul grunted, taking up a hand to rub gruffly over the back of his head.

"And how are you feeling this morning, My Lord?" Obi Wan continued as though whatever relationship existed between them was benevolent, deliberately steering clear of bickering.

"Do you think it wise to mock me, Jedi, or are you so pitiably impetuous that you know no better?" was the answer. Typical, really, Obi Wan expected nothing straight forward.

"It isn't my intent to mock you. I asked you how you were, now if you can find cruelty in that, by all means, feel offended." Obi Wan casually stacked two trays that lay atop the bedside table and saw to it that various other idle things were in order. "I see you've changed your mind enough to eat."

"Perhaps you should be more cautious of what I will do once my strength is regained." Maul advised, watching Obi Wan's hands with distrust.

"Yes. Precautions have been taken for that." Obi Wan lied easily, fiddling with an empty cup in one hand.

Maul seemed disappointed to hear that, whether or not he truly believed it. He unconsciously touched his fingers over his mended wound.

"But that's really some time from now." Obi Wan went on. "By the looks of things, that is."

"Your underestimation is a welcomed advantage." Maul notified.

"I wouldn't get too cocky if I were you." Obi Wan said as he gestured to Maul's side.

"Nor would I." Maul growled back, gesturing in return to Obi Wan's arm.

Obi Wan felt a flush of irritated embarrassment. "I meant to ask, is the wound still bothering you? I intend on scheduling regular exams, so you needn't worry much over it." He had to admit that he was partially giving this information in scorn.

Rather unexpectedly, that drew a smirk from Maul. "Nothing would please me more."

"Is that so?" Obi Wan gave a passive shrug. "When yesterday you all but tried to take the heads off of the guards and medical unit treating you? You aren't making a believer out of me, My Lord."

"It isn't the examinations that I enjoy, Jedi, it's the base principle on which you provide them." Maul scratched his naked chest gruffly with a stiff hand and nodded.

"Consideration?" Obi Wan presumed.

"Retaliation." Maul corrected.

"If that's the way you see it, fine." Obi Wan crossed his arms and canted his head a little. "You're being retaliated back to health."

For a moment, it seemed that Maul was genuinely amused by that. His lazy scowl was quick to return, however. "Prison's surely got to be better than this." He muttered in a slur.

"I don't pretend to know what they have in store for you." Obi Wan said carelessly. "Whatever it is, it will not be as kind as you're being treated now. But whether you will face eternal imprisonment or execution is most likely up to you."

"Up to me, is it? Will they ask me which I choose?" he replied dully, his voice a sardonic murmur.

"What you are given depends first on what you offer." Obi Wan bit his tongue a little in discomfort as he suddenly felt Qui Gon's words escaping his mouth.

Maul snorted and was silent for a moment. "Leave the negotiating to those who've made a profession of it, runt." He decided.

"I only wonder how much lenience you think you've got." Obi Wan set his hands to his hips. "If they decide that the interrogation is going nowhere, they will cut it off immediately. There won't be any time for your games."

"_My_ games?" Maul became a bit more alert, sneering. "That is all this _is_—these procedures are all games. Having a Jedi _Padawan_ watch over a prisoner? Keeping him in prime health just so that he may rot? There are fates in this existence worse than death, Jedi, and either of us would gladly damn our enemies to them, so forgive me if I don't find much sincerity in your ridiculous etiquette."

"So you would prefer it if we were barbaric?" Obi Wan deduced.

"It would be honest." Maul retorted. "Everything your precious Jedi Order is not."

Obi Wan himself rarely argued about the morals of a Jedi knight. It was no secret that while half of the galaxy admired and were grateful for the actions of the Jedi Order, half of it resented and even hated them. This fact had never truly bother Obi Wan, for he had chosen his path and did not question it. To be faced upfront with the argument of his supposed Jedi corruption, however, was something that he didn't expect to enjoy. It was like debating to a man that he should not be a man. There are simply things that have no place in changing. Nevertheless, he would indulge Maul as much as he could bear, for Qui Gon had made sense in his suggestion that it may open a lead to something important. He would accept this, if only begrudgingly. "As opposed to the Sith." Obi Wan assumed naturally.

"I wasn't speaking about the Sith. I was speaking about the Jedi. Do try and keep up, or get out and leave me be." Maul clarified.

"You scorn the Jedi for being dishonest; does this not mean you find your own order to be honest?" Obi Wan attempted to understand, but found it difficult when he did not truly desire to know.

"The Jedi and the Sith are not opposites in every aspect." Was his ambiguous reply.

"You hate the Jedi Order because it is dishonest, yet you say that the Sith is dishonest as well? Then you admit you're hypocritical." Obi Wan pieced together as he held his hands behind his back.

"Yes. That is part of the honesty of my alignment. No _Jedi_ would admit that he is a hypocrite." Maul explained with a snort.

Obi Wan narrowed his eyes a bit. _He's a complete lunatic._ He decided.

"And I didn't say the Sith were _dishonest_. We are deceitful." Maul wasn't looking at him now as he continued on, eyes hazily searching the bed below him as though he were looking for something hidden in the sheets.

"There's a difference?" Obi Wan queried.

"Of course there is you rot-brained cur." Maul drew his hateful eyes back to Obi Wan as though waiting for some sort of challenge.

"How so?" he prodded back with a bit more genuine curiosity.

Maul wiped a hand over his mouth and grumbled. "Dishonesty is putting forth a false truth. Deceit is merely allowing one to believe in something that is false. Dishonesty is personal betrayal, deceit is clever anonymity."

Obi Wan had to say that he had never pinned Maul for being quite so analytical. He expected that Maul was the type to believe in ideals because they were embedded into him through his perverse training, but the idea of him being so reasoned in his method just seemed delusional. "I see." He uttered.

"No, you do not." Maul denied. "Do you think I don't know you're humoring me? For what foolish purpose I can't imagine. But do go on, Jedi. Convince me."

"I understand what you say just fine." Obi Wan clipped back coolly. "But I do not agree. In either case, dishonesty and deceit are both malevolent things. I find favoring one to be absurd."

"You do not believe it logical to choose the lesser of two evils?" Maul followed with disdain.

"That is the difference between you and I. At least, one among a great many. I choose neither, for I will settle for no evil." Obi Wan shook his head briefly.

Maul was staring up at him with a very unmoved glare. "How righteous of you."

"And which would you, as a Sith, choose, Maul? The greater or lesser evil?" Obi Wan opposed.

Maul rolled one shoulder and let a small snarl pass over his features. "Whichever benefits me."

Obi Wan huffed out a breath and nodded inwardly to himself. "You don't find that selfish?"

"It is my life, and they are my choices. There is a distinction between selfishness and independence." Maul's word differentiation was beginning to wear on Obi Wan's nerves.

"It is the purpose of the Jedi to maintain order and to protect innocents. It is the purpose of the Sith to do for themselves." Obi Wan enlightened.

"And so you consider your cause a nobler one?" Maul guessed.

"Yes." Obi Wan answered without hesitation.

Maul seemed annoyed at this. "We all must fend for ourselves. That goes as well for your precious innocents."

"Some of them cannot." Obi Wan said, about to conjure examples if need be before deciding to keep his point simple.

"Then those some must suffer." Maul decreed callously.

"And we are to watch as the galaxy dies needlessly under our altercations without offering them so much as an apology?"

"Can you fathom how drab it would be if everyone were to live?" said Maul darkly as he turned his head to look out at the wall across from him.

"Compassion for life is not some doggedly followed written law for the Jedi alone. It should be instinctive, inherent in us all." By this point, Obi Wan was ready to express his distaste freely.

"Well it is not." Maul sneered back. "I find no pride in playing hero for useless causes. _That_ is the difference between you and I."

"Just how is the preservation of life useless?" Obi Wan countered dubiously. "The galaxy succumbs to death and chaos and we are to do nothing?"

"The strong survive for a reason. The strong survive in order to maintain strength. But you, you and your doting idiocy would sacrifice the strong to spare the weak, you would perpetuate the weakness."

"I'm sure our perceptions of weakness are unique in their own regard." Obi Wan lowered his eyebrows. "I spared you didn't I? Are you weak, Maul?"

Maul's chest visibly expanded with a growl, his eyes burning. "You really are _stupid_, aren't you?" he shouted, and Obi Wan took a bit of a flinch before he could stop himself.

"Why am I stupid?" Obi Wan demanded, a little embarrassed and more than irritated. "Because I've found a loophole in your unconditional judgment?"

"Get out!" Maul snarled, whipping up his cup in a sudden motion and throwing it sharply. It bounced off of Obi Wan's shoulder harmlessly, but startled him nonetheless. "I am _not_ one of your pathetic helpless weaklings that needs saving from the exalted Jedi Order. You did not 'spare' me out of compassion. It was out of regulation."

Obi Wan bit back a grunt, one fist clenching at his side. Mostly he hated the fact that Maul was right. He might have killed Maul had Qui Gon not been there to discourage such an action. As noble as compassion might have been, he did not feel it towards Maul. He had no desire to keep Maul alive, but he was willing to follow the orders of his master without question. It was the right thing to do all the same. Wasn't it? "You could try gratitude for once, instead of resentment."

"Gratitude towards _you_?" Maul scoffed, still at the edge of his nerves.

"Yes, gratitude towards the order that saved your life." Obi Wan confirmed.

"I will _never_ be grateful towards the Jedi for _anything_." He hissed, glowering heatedly.

"I wouldn't expect that you will. You're far too unappreciative for that." Obi Wan shook his head and for once met Maul's glare.

"But you don't mean gratitude for the Jedi Order, do you?" Maul continued. "You mean gratitude for yourself. You want me to be grateful for your actions, or for your sparing my life. You think that perhaps gratitude would make this task easier to swallow."

Obi Wan tightened his jaw. "I don't want anything from you. I don't need anything from you."

"That isn't true, now is it?" Maul drove his fist into the bed. "You want information."

"Yes, but like gratitude, that is something you won't give. Do you realize how contradictive that is?" Obi Wan felt his voice rise. "You do only for yourself, and yet you would damn yourself blindly for the Sith?"

"I was damned from the start!" Maul snapped. "There is no reason to betray my alliance when my fate is sealed regardless. Don't accuse _me_ of being contradictive. You wouldn't dream of betraying your order to aid yourself, and yet you arrogantly assume that I shall do just that!"

Obi Wan hesitated, his anger growing. "And why not? The Sith would betray you without a second thought, and they already have. They've left you here."

"As has the Jedi Order _you_!" Maul gestured to the room around them with a swift hand.

"That's preposterous!" Obi Wan broke out suddenly. "The Jedi have not abandoned me."

"Haven't they? If watching over me was really so important, a true Jedi knight would be doing it. Your master is obviously more experienced, why does he not accompany you? Or has he got better things to do that sit for his pitiful, clumsy apprentice?" Maul surmised.

Better things to do? For some reason, an image of Qui Gon and Anakin appeared in his mind. The two connected so well. Whenever those two were together, Obi Wan felt oddly out of place. _What a perfect opportunity to get rid of you._ Uttered part of him very quickly as he gazed upon Maul, and a bit of a self-disgusted gasp caught in his chest. He grit his teeth as he replied. "It's nothing like that." Obi Wan turned hastily, suddenly ready to make his departure as soon as possible.

"I'm sure." Maul said dryly.

Obi Wan jerked back around, his braid whipping behind him. "You're insane!"

"And you're pretentious!" Maul shot back, rising up a little.

Obi Wan bit down on his tongue hard and quickly stormed out.


	13. Chapter 13

**Obdurate Heart - XIII**

_Well. Fabulous. Just when I thought I'd have free time to write a story, I get tied down with all this crap. Updates might be slower. Thanks for sticking. May be the longest chapter yet._

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The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one often comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't._**

**_-Henry Ward Beecher

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Obi Wan had perhaps spent an hour or two of actual sleep the past night, sick with his own shame as he had been. It appalled him how he had managed to lose his temper like a spoiled child, especially in front of an enemy who thrived off of and preyed upon instability. That coupled with the terms upon which he had left and he wasn't sure he had a shred of common Jedi decency left within him. His night was riddled with sleepless ponders and regrets, and it left him with a very early, exhausted morning.

He exhaled deeply as he sat down with a cup of tea, recounting the event in his head for the umpteenth time since he had risen from his mock slumber. He wondered if he should confide in Qui Gon about this, but then the humiliation of reporting the incident was something he would avoid if possible. Not that he would refrain from honesty if questioned, but it wasn't something he was about to go running his mouth off about. The guilt of his emotional weakness was eating at him as it was. He had promised himself that he would look in on his prisoner at least once every day, but he was certain that he had lost a great edge over Maul in their prior quarrel. Facing him today would be awkward to say the least.

But why had he let himself fall into such a frivolous dispute? Of course Maul was an infuriating beast, but he had spent all the years of his life training as a man who was above petty squabbling. Was that not enough? He had heard the argument Maul presented numerous times. He supposed the only real difference was that those questions were more eloquently worded, and directed towards he himself.

He knew that he should take care to be knightly. He would simply have to be better at keeping his feelings in check, and remaining neutral in his conversations with his Sith captive, as offensive as they might become. He decided eventually that the stress over the previous night was something he could not deal with all day, and so, early as it was, he left his quarters in search of the makeshift prison chamber once more. The sun was only just beginning to rise, casting a dim golden light over rounded rooftops and off of the even paths beneath him to mark his way. The world went on around him in a peaceful slur, and he delved into his mind to find harmony within it. He was at least reasonably at peace by the time he reached his destination. The guards were just changing shift.

"Good morning sir." Greeted one amicably as he approached, and Obi Wan nodded in return.

"How is everything this morning?" he questioned, though he wasn't sure if he was really checking up or if he was merely stalling.

"No change in the situation." The guard informed. "The prisoner is awake now. He should be at his first meal as we speak."

"I think I'll see him." Obi Wan said, but hesitated as though somehow he was awaiting protest. Realizing that as rather silly, he bypassed the huddle of departing and arriving guards to enter the chamber alone.

Maul was sitting up on his bed, gnawing apathetically at a corner of toast and rubbing his wounded side a little in blind examination. His venomous eyes caught Obi Wan quickly, growing hot and warning for this most unwelcome presence. Obi Wan felt the circumstances of this scene all too repetitive. He stopped a few feet from the door and merely nodded to the prisoner in greeting, allowing him to be the first to speak, if he would.

Maul tossed what he was eating lazily onto his tray, dropping his hands between his drawn up and splayed out knees as he eyed Obi Wan in apprehension. His impatience had relented, as he had indeed grown used to the Jedi's visits, but his wariness was unaltered. Apparently he was not going to be the first to comment on the situation, and Obi Wan thought it would be odd for them to just stare at one another this entire period.

"Hello." Obi Wan said flippantly, finding it funny that such a thing would sound so casual. He wasn't exactly sure what else to say.

Maul gave into a while of silence, but moved a bit as if considering words. "…I wasn't sure that you'd be back, really." He regarded with a familiar sneer.

"A fine caretaker I'd be if I stayed away." Obi Wan replied, without his usual prim and proper nature. Whether that was due to his wakeful night or his lack of specific tactic he was unsure. "I'd like to apologize for yesterday. I don't suspect you'll take to that kindly, but it must be said."

Maul clearly tensed at that, gritting his teeth and letting a silent sigh of exasperation fall from his chest. "And why _must_ it be said?" he growled quietly in return.

"My integrity." Obi Wan shrugged a shoulder lightly. "The integrity of an order I do not wish to misrepresent." He suddenly felt as though that was being a bit too honest when considering he was speaking to a Sith Lord.

"Well I do not apologize." Maul countered unsurprisingly. "It is in the nature of our races to battle. We are predetermined adversaries. It is disrespectful to _both_ our orders to be polite to one another."

Obi Wan creased his brow and stared at Maul in contemplation. For some reason, Qui Gon's comment about learning to take a joke resounded in his head. He could not figure if Maul was indeed jesting or if he truly believed something so nonsensical. "Then I suppose that's to say you don't forgive me." Obi Wan made a dull jab of his own.

That seemed to annoy Maul, but he said nothing in light of it. "When will your negotiators arrive?" he demanded.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know for certain." Obi Wan answered, taking a few steps closer. "When it is determined that you are in full health."

"Full health." Maul shook his head and chuckled darkly, but he made no protest. "And who is to determine this?"

Obi Wan made a long pause, looking down at the floor and opening his mouth to await an answer he was unsure of. "…I suppose…I am."

Maul narrowed his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. That was surely not what he wanted to hear, but he must have at least considered it an option. "Don't think that means I'll be any kinder to you." He said with a sarcastic edge.

"I don't expect kindness at all." Obi Wan said truthfully.

"Don't you find expecting things to be awfully presumptuous?" Maul muttered with a short glare upwards.

"I'm sure I don't know." Was his reply. Maul was so inclined to opposing every statement he made, but by now he was certain it was only to annoy him into leaving. The mood between them had been strangely placated, however, as though they had fought one another out already.

"I'm sure you don't." Maul agreed. "You're nothing but a confused fool."

"I'm not." Obi Wan disagreed quite simply, and Maul did not press further on that issue, surprisingly. "Don't stop eating on my account." He implored, gesturing back towards the tray.

Maul shook his head. "Surely you know it's rather rude." He pointed out with a snort.

"I thought it was disrespectful to show a Jedi politeness." Obi Wan reminded.

Maul cocked his head to the side, his eyes still staring into Obi Wan's with exasperation. "Do you take everything so damned seriously?"

"There are certain matters that I don't take lightly. You are one of them."

"I don't see any reason why that should affect your general sense of humor." Maul grunted back, resting his elbows over his knees pensively.

"I don't really find anything about this situation humorous." Obi Wan looked around the room as though he was indeed looking for something to laugh at.

"Then you're too uptight." Maul dubbed, and Obi Wan couldn't help but feel that this had been said to him before. He did not want to be considered uptight, even if it was only a Sith that called him as much. "Why don't you sit, Jedi?" Maul suddenly suggested in an agitated grumble. "You look awkward enough without standing there like you've got a durasteel pipe in your backside."

Obi Wan resisted the urge to roll his eyes, reaching over towards the wall and dragging up a chair. He perched upon it warily, suddenly finding it very odd that he would even consider entertaining the request of his prisoner. It was customary to be ready at all times to anticipate an attack when dealing with such a volatile situation, and surely one would be more prone to action in a standing state than a sitting one. However, he was in fact already seated, and rising now would just portray him as foolish and indecisive. "How is the wound?" he asked.

"Stop asking." Maul hissed back.

Obi Wan shook his head. He did not know which reason Maul resented that question, but he could certainly list the possibilities. "Can you stand? Walk?" Obi Wan proceeded to query.

"I haven't ventured it." Maul sneered.

"You haven't even tried?" Obi Wan attempted to confirm.

"No." Maul repeated.

"Why not?" the young Jedi shrugged.

"You're incessant."

"It is my responsibility to know."

"If you're so concerned that it may be healing, why don't you just cut another?" Maul glowered over at him and aimed a hand towards his uninjured side. "I wouldn't walk then, would I?"

"Sarcasm doesn't help your state." Said Obi Wan unenthusiastically. He didn't think it wise to push the matter, however. He guessed the reason Maul hadn't tried to test himself on his legs was simply because it hurt, but that was something a proud Sith Lord was not about to admit.

Maul looked down at his hands flippantly, flexing his fingers and examining his cuticles. "Do you have nowhere else to be?" this question was still a growl, but it was the first time Obi Wan thought he heard more curiosity than animosity.

"I am here because this is m—"

"Your duty, yes, I know." Maul finished impatiently. "And it's your only duty?"

Obi Wan hesitated, thinking over what malice Maul might have been planning by learning certain details. When he could think of none, he answered, reluctantly. "For the moment, yes."

To Obi Wan's surprise, Maul made no mockery of that. He merely sat, eying the Jedi apprentice with a cattish, orange gaze. "Do you really think that by this point I'll be offering you any information?"

"I don't know." Obi Wan replied. "It isn't as though I'm asking you for it. I know the Sith well enough."

"As do I the Jedi. Enough to know that you won't quit your pestering so easily." Maul noted wryly.

Obi Wan continued on with an inquisitive gaze. "Persistence isn't really a trait to scorn, is it? I would think if nothing else, you could commend the Jedi for that."

"Hardly. Persistence towards lost causes is only a waste of time." Maul readjusted his position and shifted awkwardly away from his wounded side. "Whether it's your persistence to extract information, or to stop the Sith from their planning. It is all equally useless."

"The Sith will not prevail over the Jedi. That I can be sure of." Obi Wan said firmly.

"Oh mark my word, Jedi, the Sith will have their day." He declared ominously.

"Their day to do what, I wonder?" Obi Wan tossed up a hand.

"Prevail." Maul answered in a grunt, staring at Obi Wan as though he placed him as supremely stupid for asking as much.

Obi Wan let his shoulders slack just barely in disappointment. "The Jedi will never allow this to happen."

"The Jedi do not have a choice." Maul again shifted, letting one leg fall lax across the length of the bed. "You have been raised to believe that the Jedi are all powerful. You will one day learn that they are not."

"Were you not raised to believe that the Sith was an all powerful force?" Obi Wan pointed out. "If you claim me as a sufferer of my nurturing, are you not a victim as well?"

"I was raised enough to know that power does not derive from order and its maintenance. It manifests from chaos, and the ability to create it. But yes, we are victims of our environment. Were we but men, we may not hate one another as we do."

Obi Wan stalled for a long moment, one hand preoccupied with rubbing his mended wrist. "The Jedi do not hate."

"That's only foolish conjure. It sounds sweet on the tongue, doesn't it? Do you mean to tell me that you _cannot_ hate?" Maul eyed down at Obi Wan's bothered wrist briefly.

"Yes. I cannot, and I do not." Obi Wan nodded.

Maul let an outward laugh escape him, leaning back slightly onto the sheets. "Then you aren't even human."

Obi Wan furrowed his brow and stared at Maul in an offended manner, shaking his head. "And what of some soulless being who thrives off of the suffering of others? Is that more natural? More honorable?"

Maul snorted and said nothing, meeting Obi Wan's eyes in silence.

"In any case, I think we can at least agree that neither of us _are_ just men." Obi Wan was looking down now, idly examining his wrist as though intending to find something that was not obvious and thinking to himself. Clearly his quest for answers was going nowhere. He opened his mouth to say something further, but Maul beat him to the punch.

"We both like to think that we are more." Maul's tone was quiet. Obi Wan was shocked to hear the lack of fierceness in the Sith Lord's voice for once. He sounded quite normal without it.

Obi Wan slowly looked up, biting a lower lip for a moment before he almost timidly spoke. "May I ask you something?" he asked, hoping that his request would not be dismissed this time.

Maul glared purposefully at Obi Wan, seeming to be contemplating something. After a moment, he sighed with an annoyed roll of his eyes. "Don't give me two questions out of one. Ask what you want." Maul permitted, waving a hand.

Obi Wan was a bit surprised to be allowed to ask, sorting the words of his query in his head carefully. "…It is just….before," Obi Wan started up, clearing his throat a little. "When the two of us first met. When I struck you, you…said something to me." Obi Wan drew up his eyes to study his prisoner.

Maul was looking back at him with an expression that was at first blank and a tad irritated, but slowly transformed into inquisitive confusion.

Obi Wan swallowed deeply, wide blue eyes gazing out at him in a brooding way. "…just before you fell. You told me that…maybe I would see something."

When Maul moved to speak, Obi Wan was tempted to believe he was about to deny that he had said anything, but the dark Zabrak stilled suddenly, his mouth closing and his head tilting away. "And what of it?"

"What did you mean by it?" Obi Wan requested immediately, cursing himself for seeming so dense.

Maul blinked a few times and shook his head, letting one arm fall across his stomach. "What does that matter?"

"…I'm not sure…" Obi Wan muttered, almost to himself. He persisted, however, as he felt it appropriate to do given Maul's apparent expectations. "I only want to understand."

"It was never your intent to learn from a Sith." Maul returned offhandedly.

"They were your words. Were they another's, I'd be asking another." Obi Wan pressed.

Maul gave Obi Wan a long glance over, with eyes that seemed to waver between exasperation and something that more or less waned to defeat. He drew his legs back up and straightened himself out for a moment, rubbing his neck harshly with a quick palm and letting out a loud sigh. "…The Sith are not duller than the Jedi in senses. Emotion runs as clearly off of a body to us as it does to you."

Obi Wan waited, not quite seeing how that answered his question in the slightest.

"I am not blind, Jedi. In no sense am I so. I felt you very distinctly as you rushed headstrong into my fight." Maul clenched a hand as though holding a saber. "You were _angry_."

Obi Wan stilled, and sank a bit.

"It was rawness. You aimed at me with murder in your eyes, and I was more surprised for that than in considering your audacity to interrupt at all. I sensed in you things that I had never sensed in a Jedi before…" Maul ended with a quiet snort.

Obi Wan's tone belied his confusion, as well as his shame. "It was a mistake. One that should have easily been controlled, and shan't happen again." He didn't know if he was saying this for Maul's sake or his own, however.

Maul looked very irked by that statement. "You relied on a base, primal instinct…one that the Jedi abhor, because it admits a chaos in one's mind that they would pretend can—or should—be harnessed. …Do you want to know something, Jedi?" Maul gave a quiet, disgusted chuckle, and Obi Wan apprehensively awaited response. "…You made me falter. You actually made me stop, and search you, confounded as I was…I thought, for just a brief interlude, that there was hope yet for the mechanical Jedi pawn."

"What did you mean by those words, Maul?" Obi Wan could feel his heart make a strange, uncomfortable incline in pace. He was edgy enough as it was.

Maul let the moment stretch before continuing. "Had you not acted on your anger, you would have sat like a doting idiot and attempted to calculate how best to go about things, in which time, it would have been too late to save your pathetic master. You lashed out, you struck your enemy, and you had _won_. Not because you kept your calm, Jedi. Not because you took what you thought was the most noble course of action. You defeated your enemy because you acted upon an emotion…I thought perhaps you would _see_ that. Even learn from it."

Obi Wan could only look on at him, at a loss for words and beginning to build up an argument in his mind against this, but unable to keep a balance before his thoughts collided and crumbled.

"But now I see that there isn't hope for you at all." Maul came back with a sneer. "You disappointed me gravely. All you profess to me about your victory is regret, and you make yourself undeserving of your triumph. You could have killed me and ended so much trouble…Instead, you reverted back to your cowardly little Jedi ways."

"…I've promised to honor the code of the Jedi. That incident…I would not allow it to ruin my honesty." Obi Wan shook his head quickly.

"You are a fool." Maul designated him once again, and Obi Wan was very much tired of hearing that.

Obi Wan reacted a bit suddenly, meeting his antagonist with a firm air. "Why am I a fool? Because I live my life with order? Because I do not allow every wayward emotion to govern my actions?"

"_No_." Maul commanded sternly, and Obi Wan obediently shrank into silence at the tone. Their conversation seemed to echo off of the walls around them, replaying in a dozen fragments. Maul's rigid bark died away among them, and his voice broke out again, soft and dark. "…You are a fool because you allow your life to be governed by _rules_, as opposed to your own _heart_."

Obi Wan took a small breath and blinked once, a sudden cold air enveloping him. The two eyes that stared upon him may as well have been a thousand, and his heavy robes may have been non-existent as oddly stripped as he felt. He didn't know what kind of confidence he had harbored with him upon stepping into this room, but all and any he might have had had been walked upon and kicked away. There was no longer enmity circling the room amongst them, but the strange uneasiness that had replaced it was much worse than Obi Wan would have predicted. The echoes were beginning to choke him. With what was either an attempted bow or a simple lurch forward, Obi Wan stood and calmly went to the exit, ignoring the curious stare that followed him.


	14. Chapter 14

**Obdurate Heart - XIV**

_I'm so tired. Ahahaha! Sorry that this chapter was delayed…things seem to be getting more so lately. Thank you so much! I'm glad you don't think it's rushed. What I'm starting to wonder about is if it's too long and drawn out. :D Anyway, see you next chapter. Hopefully._

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"The sorrow which has no vent in tears may make other organs weep."_**

**_-Henry Maudsley_

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Obi Wan was most dismayed when meditation provided him only short term relief from his infernal pondering. His mood was even more perturbed than it had been after their initial little spat, and this time he hadn't even been fighting with Maul. Perhaps he should not have left in such a hurry again. He was continuously giving Maul an edge over him in this way. And yet, that was not what bothered him.

He sat in the solitude of his quarters with quiet anxiety, and he wished that Qui Gon were here. Qui Gon was optimistic and sage, often able to dismiss his apprentice's qualms with such simple reassurances. It was something that Obi Wan currently craved. If only these sudden disquieting sensations could be carried away by a mere handful of kind words. His master was not here, however, and he was left to sort out these new problems on his own. Such as the reality that his responsibilities of prisoner detail was no longer just a task. It had become something much more complicated. Somewhere along the line, though Obi Wan could make no true effort to pinpoint where, some facetious little ideal of Maul's rambling had…made sense. And suddenly, his captive at least did not look like a _complete_ lunatic. This worried him more than he felt it should.

It was so much simpler to think of Maul as a raving invalid as opposed to someone who was thought-out. That may have been a tad pious, but Obi Wan could certainly deal with some simplicity in such difficult situations. This all left him very unsure as to how exactly he would deal with Maul now, or how to behave. Why was he so unstrung by this foolish occurrence? Obi Wan began to fidget with his braid, suddenly unsatisfied with it and pulling away the ties so that he could reconfigure it into a proper fashion.

Why indeed? He now had the answer to that oh-so-mysterious question his mind had been chewing over for the past few days. There was no enigma to ponder now—he knew what Maul had meant because Maul himself had explained. It was just more anti-Jedi blather was all, he knew that. Shouldn't he be able to go on about his day unbothered? After all, Maul couldn't have been right about that…

Obi Wan stood up in frustration, his braid forgotten. Yes, so he _had_ acted upon anger in that battle. For one, brief moment, he had allowed his senses to take over. But did that one, weak moment permanently discredit him as a Jedi? Surely not. Even if those irrational actions had brought him success, it was only by blind luck that he had not rushed unabashedly into that fight and gotten sliced down the instant he lashed out. There was not a lesson to be learned there, only a mistake to be learned from. No long-term good ever came from such brazen and uncalculated risks. _Save for the preservation of your master. _A voice seemed to mock him from somewhere in the dredges of his confliction. Confliction? Since when had this become a confliction? He was not conflicted. Maul's accusation was irritating, nothing more.

He attempted to laugh at himself then. Was he really letting Maul's silly mind games affect him so much? No matter how genuine he seemed, he was a depraved Sith Lord. He was certainly just toying with Obi Wan. What else could his plan of attack be? Obi Wan stopped his pacing and stepped outside of his quarters, closing his eyes for a moment to revel in the cool air and calm his mind. There was no rush to check up on his prisoner this day. Part of him wanted to put it off indefinitely, but procrastination was irresponsible. He began a rather unhurried walk towards the holding room, telling himself it would only be a very short visit this time around. There was no sense in staying long enough to fall into another argument—it was evident that Maul was not about to disclose anything useful, composed or no.

_"You wouldn't dream of betraying your order to aid yourself, and yet you arrogantly assume that I shall do just that!"_ Maul had said…Obi Wan let a dismissive sigh rush through his nose, shaking his head. It wasn't arrogant to assume that. It was proven that the Sith were prone to giving up information when perceiving themselves in peril. At the very least, far more so than the Jedi. Insulting Maul's integrity was the smallest of his concerns all the same. Capricious squabbling, that's all it really was, and Obi Wan was not about to actually start pondering over any part of it. …Although…well…come to think of it, where was there proof that the Sith were more divulging upon secrets than the Jedi…? Obi Wan naturally supposed this because the Sith were likewise naturally treacherous. Would that treachery not apply to their brethren as well? He crossed briefly over the subject of Darth Maul and his master. Maul did indeed serve, but he couldn't help wondering, what, exactly, was in it for Maul? In his experience, a person does not join the Dark Side without seeking a benefit they are falsely promised. Or had he simply been raised this way—to be this sinister?

He grimaced as he thought about that. How could anyone let a child be taken by the Sith? A child, something so naïve and trusting that it practically begs the corrupt to persuade it over to the Dark Side. It was beyond him how someone could not protect a child from such things, and a strange, fraternal part of him prowled protectively over the thought of Anakin. But then evil consumed children all the time. As sad as it was, it was not widely preventable. Little younglings would be shoveled off into the broiling pit of darkness until the Sith were abolished, crafting their innocent minds into feral, murderous soldiers for a selfish cause. It was heartbreaking, but Obi Wan would not dwell on it. When he looked up again, he found himself at the front entrance of Maul's chamber.

"Good day, Sir." Offered a guard, and Obi Wan nodded, approaching leisurely.

"Any problems to report?" he asked casually.

"Not a one. The prisoner has yet to awaken." The guard informed.

Obi Wan furrowed his brow. "Yet to awaken? Well it's almost noon."

"Without meaning disrespect, Sir, I don't believe he's got anything better to do." Was the reply.

"I suppose you're right." Obi Wan shrugged. "…I'm only stopping to look in. I'll be on my way shortly; I've other business to attend to."

The guard agreed and Obi Wan passed without question, walking into the dimly lit room. In truth, he only really wished that he had other matters sparing this, but he partially felt as though he should give himself an excuse not to stay long. The moment he stepped in, something about the room felt different.

As surely as the guard had told, Maul was still asleep on the bed, lying on his chest in an awkward position with his arms strewn out and still. It was a wonder that he didn't bolt upright, as he was usually able to sense Obi Wan's presence instantly. It worried him to think what Maul was up to so late into the night that he was this tired over, but as he came closer, it just seemed plain odd. "Lord Maul?" Obi Wan called out, clearing his throat. When he didn't answer, Obi Wan raised an eyebrow. He came closer until his knees nearly touched the bed.

It was there that he was able to absorb the scene in its fullest. He was still motionless…and he didn't appear to be breathing. "Maul? Lord Maul," Obi Wan immediately reached out a hand, and he half expected the skin he touched to be stiff and cold. He was shocked when it was hot—nearly burning under his hand. Maul made not a twitch as Obi Wan moved over the bed, gripping a shoulder and shoving him onto his back as he patted a cheek gruffly. Maul remained slack and unresponsive. With panic welling up in his throat, Obi Wan leaned his head down to the prisoner's chest, his own breath stilling as he listened. He placed a hand flat over Maul's heart and froze, trying to catch some sign of life there. He heard and felt nothing. "Guard!" Obi Wan shot up, hand traveling up Maul's throat and searching for a pulse. "Guard! Send in a medic! Quickly!"


	15. Chapter 15

**Obdurate Heart – XV**

_Do you not just love it when an author leaves you on a cliff-hanging chapter for like, a week? I'm sorry._

_**

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"However long the night, the dawn will break."**_

_**- African proverb

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**_

If Obi Wan had been pacing before, he was driving a dent in the ground now. It had been three hours of waiting outside of the medical facility and he hadn't so much as received one word about Maul's condition. His anxiety had sprouted arms and was now wringing his neck freely. Had he let his prisoner—a renowned criminal and his only responsibility—die? How negligent could he have been that he hadn't even noticed something was wrong with him? And what _was_ wrong with him? The day prior he had shown signs of nothing but recovery, so what had changed between the short hours in which Obi Wan had last seen him? A thousand explanations raced through Obi Wan's mind. Was he sick? Had he suddenly contracted some rare disease? A food allergy, possibly? Someone could have even poisoned him, but who?

He leaned up against the wall, rubbing his forehead with a groan. He prayed that Maul had not died. As worried as he was, he didn't even have room to resent the fact that he was fretting over the well being of his enemy. As he saw the medical droid emerge from the corridor, he sprang back into attentiveness and rushed to meet it. "What is it, what's happened?" he demanded a tad impolitely.

The droid stalled and began systematically. "A portion of the lining used to seal off his intestinal wound has ruptured."

Obi Wan blinked. "How? Why?"

"These things will happen." The droid replied. "The area was weakened. The rupture could have been caused by something he ingested, over-activity on his part, or merely time and wear."

"And?" Obi Wan pressed, fearing the worst.

"The prisoner is resilient. Internal bleeding has been drained and the abrasion safeguarded from infection. His fever has been treated. It is recommended that he be limited to dire movement only and placed on a liquid diet."

"What state is he in now?" Obi Wan asked, relief flooding him all at once.

"An induced coma. He is expected to come out of it in a day or so." The droid motioned and led Obi Wan to the recovery room wherein the patient lay. "He will be safe to be moved back to his quarters in a few hours. We would like to monitor him just a while longer."

"Of course." Obi Wan nodded. As the droid ambled away, Obi Wan let out a breath. Maul was going to be alright, by the looks of it…

* * *

Obi Wan stretched out his legs and rested his chin on a palm from where he sat on his stool, staring at Maul's limp form on the white medical table. For the past hour, he had been monitoring the patient's vitals for himself. While he acknowledged that it seemed a tad paranoid to sit and stare at him as though disaster would occur the instant he drew his eyes away, he was not about to let just that happen again. When he first arrived, Maul had been looking rather worse for wear, his form statuesque and his breath slight. In the past few minutes, however, he seemed to be regaining more of himself. His breaths had deepened and evened out quite a bit. At last Obi Wan's nerves were put to rest—at least for the moment.

Suppressing a yawn, Obi Wan looked around the room and contemplated stepping out on his watch for a little to grab a cup of tea. It might help him keep his senses about a little longer. His eyes drew back to the figure, however, as a muscle twitched along Maul's outer calf. Obi Wan slowly blinked and watched curiously, following another twitch in an arm lying nearest him. "Maul?" Obi Wan spoke directly, but he received no response. Maul was clearly just suffering the affects of some wayward comatose dreaming. "At least one of us has the luxury of obliviousness…" he muttered, crossing his arms and fixing his legs idly about the rungs of the stool.

Maul continued a cycle of various twitches, a lengthy pause between each one. Obi Wan watched with disinterested boredom, eyes moving back up to Maul's face as he hissed some incoherent sound. He twitched again, muttering out a few growls and letting his head fall to the side away from Obi Wan. _A nightmare, is it?_ Obi Wan thought absently. _I'm sure it serves you right…_ He watched back and forth between fidgeting movements and little trails of vibration traveling up the chords of his throat, eying over briefly at the newly bandaged scar on his side. He wondered how long Maul had been in that dangerous state. Had he been bleeding out gradually or all at once? If it had been gradually, he cursed Maul for having the spite not to mention the pain he must have been feeling. He knew that Maul would gladly die if he could somehow convey it as spitting in the Jedi's face.

Maul flinched a bit in his sleep again a little more violently, and Obi Wan sighed, chewing on a lip as he watched. If Maul didn't stop he was liable to either move over onto his wound or fall off the table completely. Looking around the room with a grimace, Obi Wan reached out a hand and placed it onto Maul's brow, begrudgingly trying to calm whatever nerves were troubling him. Maul growled loudly as the touch befell him, but was in no state close enough to consciousness to prevent it. His bodily twitches began to slow nonetheless, his snarl disappearing and his growls turning into a soft mumbling. Obi Wan studied his relaxing spasms, thinking how Maul would protest if he knew that Obi Wan had any power at all to tamper with his emotions. It was somewhat amusing that he could quell such vicious bloodlust with a simple touch, he thought as he observed Maul. _And what are you smiling about? He's probably dreaming of tearing you apart, you know._ Said a voice in the back of his mind. Obi Wan blinked and quickly relaxed the muscles of his face. …Smiling? …Why, so he had been.


	16. Chapter 16

**Obdurate Heart – XVI**

_I do sincerely apologize that this fic is slowing down so much. Unfortunately, there really isn't much I can do about that. I really appreciate those of you who choose to continue reading, even if my updates are seriously lagging._

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"The truth is rarely pure and never simple."_**

**_- Oscar Wilde

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_**

Obi Wan moaned slightly, opening his eyes to meet only darkness in front of him. He slowly lifted his head from his arms, which had been resting on the edge of the bed from where he sat on his chair. It took him a moment to remember where he was. Ah, yes. Back in Maul's quarters, wasn't he? Maul had been pronounced stable enough to move early that evening, and Obi Wan had, after a brief moment to himself, returned to his prisoner's bedside. He wasn't sure why, exactly, save for that he was overly worried about suffering another mishap.

Rubbing the side of his face and still trying to guess when it was he'd fallen asleep, he realized what had woken him up. Maul was shifting now, grumbling half-consciously and touching at his temple as his eyes opened. Obi Wan watched him carefully, judging by the lack of light seeping in from outside that it was somewhere between midnight and the next morning. "Good…evening." Was all he could think to say, straightening up.

Maul positively leapt at the sound of Obi Wan's voice, half scrambling up into a sitting position and staring over at him with shock.

"It's only me." Obi Wan held up his hands, bowing his head.

Maul's lips moved, but whatever he might have said died off in his befuddled state. He suddenly clenched his eyes shut and felt a hand to his side, sinking back down onto the bed. "…What have you done to me…?"

Maul was accusing _him_? Obi Wan snorted. "Part of your internal scarring broke apart. I had you fixed, that's what I've done to you."

Maul might have been more aggressive, but still on the tail end of anesthetic and the weakness of sudden surgery, he most likely wasn't quite lucid enough to be angry. He felt along his side and winced as his fingers grazed over parts of his bandages that were tinged a sickly orange from seeping tendrils of blood and pus.

Obi Wan kept his eyes on him, standing and reaching over to the side table where a cup of dark liquid sat. He took it carefully and reached out with it, pushing it towards Maul. "Drink this."

Maul looked up, eyes meeting Obi Wan's uncertainly before he took it in a hand and peered down at its contents. With another glance, Maul did as he was told, narrowly catching himself from gagging as it poured down his throat.

"It's a protein mix. It should help bring back some of the strength that the blood loss took away." Obi Wan explained. Unable to help a silent chuckle, he queried, "How does it taste?"

Maul swallowed thickly and sneered down at a half-empty cup, swirling the liquid once and making a face. "…like licking a rancor."

Obi Wan battled off a small grin and sat himself down again, working a hand at his sore neck. "How are you feeling?"

Maul cleared his head enough to glare resentfully. "Positively fantastic." He said huskily.

"I thought you'd died." Obi Wan continued as he leaned back.

"Then you obviously didn't give me enough credit." Maul took another drink before coughing hoarsely. He bent forward with a dry heave, and Obi Wan quickly made a move to stand, only to be dismissed angrily by the waving of Maul's hand. "Stay back…" he warned.

Seeing that Maul had regained apparent control over himself, Obi Wan hesitantly relaxed once more. "I apologize that this has happened." He said sincerely.

Maul opened his mouth and looked to protest, but Obi Wan continued on as though he was welcomed to.

"Yes, I do not need to, I'm quite aware of that." He met Maul's gaze for a moment as though challenging him to have something else to say other than that. When Maul made no reply, Obi Wan nodded. "This situation is my responsibility. If something goes wrong—"

"It is your fault?" Maul finished.

Obi Wan paused, letting a hand hang slightly in the air where he had forgotten what he was doing with it. "In a sense, yes."

Maul snorted a weak laugh and stared out ahead of him, seeming to ignore Obi Wan in favor of personal thoughts. "Please, spare me your nobility for once."

"I'm not being noble. I'm being honest." Obi Wan stated defiantly.

"Then lie." Maul's sarcastic levity was particularly getting under Obi Wan's skin. How could anyone be so ridiculously cynical right after surgery anyway?

"I'll do no such thing." He decided eventually.

"Humor me." Maul demanded next.

Obi Wan studied Maul in slight confusion, wondering why he was behaving so oddly. For once, the Zabrak Sith Lord was not looking, snarling, sneering, or otherwise expressively berating him. He was speaking rather casually, in a joking mood even… Suddenly, Obi Wan realized that this might not be natural indeed. It had definately been under twenty-four hours since Maul had been in the medical ward. This new mood wasn't attributable to a change of heart—he was _drugged_. Part of Obi Wan laughed in both amusement and intrigue. What better time to query him than when his defenses were down? "Oh very well, My Lord. It was every bit your fault, you should have kept your innards in check." Obi Wan said.

To Obi Wan's shock, Maul laughed outright. It was a strangely unnerving sound. "Yes. That's really more like it…"

Obi Wan thought for a moment and tried to judge how coherent his prisoner was, picking his words carefully. "Might I ask you how you're considering your fate? About negotiating, I mean." he began vaguely.

"I don't consider it." Maul shook his head. "I'm not in charge of it. I don't change it. You should know that. My placement is decided by the Sith when under their hand, and likewise by your order under theirs."

"Surely you know you've got the ability to make things easier for yourself. If not change your fate, at least shift it."

"As do you, but you won't." Maul pointed out, then paused. "And I won't."

"I see…" Obi Wan nodded. He did not see, however. "Well, isn't there anything you want? Anything that could be offered to you? Aside from your freedom, I don't see why other accommodations couldn't be made."

"You will give me my freedom in death. Why should I strive towards anything else?"

Obi Wan scratched his chin, perplexed. "So it's death you really want, is it? …You know Maul…your mortality is on thicker ice than I think you realize."

Maul was quiet, staring at Obi Wan with curiosity.

"Perhaps I was wrong before. Maybe they will not kill you once they see that you refuse to bequeath upon them what they wish to know…You are a valuable piece of this puzzle, after all. Now _I_ know that you will not give them anything no matter the punishment, but they may suppose eternal incarceration could at least give them a fair amount of time to hope that you change your mind at some point. Death will not come swiftly then. It will come with age and wear, and world confined by walls. However, if you were to request execution in exchange for—"

"Pawn." Maul stated abruptly. "Do you know what it is to be a pawn? …I request nothing, I want nothing, I divulge nothing. I have but one function."

"And what is that function?"

"To be as my master places me." He looked down at himself.

"Your master?" Obi Wan feigned ignorance.

"Yes of course…" Maul's tone dropped quietly.

Obi Wan rested his elbows onto the bed in sudden anticipation. "Who is this master, Maul?" he asked carefully.

"Someone you know…someone…close." Maul said mysteriously.

"And…do you know his name?" Obi Wan continued on with a gentle but purposeful interrogation, feeling himself drawing closer to something.

"Of course I do…I'd imagine the entire galaxy knows his name by this point…" Maul rubbed his head, gazing up at the ceiling.

"Who?" Obi Wan prodded. "I must have heard of him too, if everyone else has."

"…His name?" Maul swallowed, pausing as though his head was becoming cloudy.

"Yes. Tell me his name."

Maul turned his head, eerie cattish eyes falling to meet Obi Wan's simply. "Why, Obi Wan Kenobi of course."

Obi Wan stared blankly.

"…He controls me now." Maul nodded, then took a long moment to gaze at the floor. Slowly, his hand released the empty cup he had been holding at his side, where it fell away, and his eyes closed.

Obi Wan sat, and wondered.


	17. Chapter 17

**Obdurate Heart – XVII**

_Thanks again very much to those of you who took the time to review, and those of you who have the patience to put up with the slowness of this boring-ass story in general. Really, it's nice of you. Thanks!_

**_

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"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place—and kill him."_**

**_- Mark Twain

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_**

"I don't suppose I'm going to be compensated for medical negligence." Maul uttered as he stared up at the ceiling.

Obi Wan watched on tense nerves as the medical droid removed the bandages on his prisoner's side, ready to intervene if tempers changed. "Consider it recompense for my master's shoulder." He replied in a caustic manner.

"So we're back to vengeance again, are we, Jedi? How amusing." Maul twitched as his wound was exposed and prodded.

"Vengeance? I was thinking more along the lines of jest, as that seems to be more your like." He turned up to address the droid unit. "Any problems to report on that?"

"None Sir." It responded.

Maul lay mostly without complaint to the affair, but Obi Wan wasn't sure whether he had much choice. Now that his clearheadedness had been regained, Maul was back to his usual temperamental state, and while Obi Wan was satisfied that recovery had been made, he was not at all looking forward to things returning to normal. Maul made much better company when unconscious, he had decided. "Thank you." He nodded to the droid as it finished redressing the injury.

"Will there be anything else, Sir? Shall I have another look at that arm?" it asked as it drew away from the bed.

Obi Wan grimaced in a humiliated fashion and refused to look at Maul. "No. It's no bother."

"Very well." The droid departed.

"Would you like something to eat?" Obi Wan offered. Granted, Maul's only choices were various awful-tasting mulches, but he felt it proper to be polite to someone who was not well.

"No." Came Maul's answer. "Go and eat yourself if you're so intent, you've been looming over my bed for days now. Go away."

Obi Wan ignored his request. "I am not your concern. I'll be where I please; perhaps you should focus on yourself."

"You are my concern." Maul argued.

Obi Wan looked up from rubbing his temples tiredly and quirked a brow.

"If I'm your concern, that makes you mine, doesn't it? Do you think I should ignore you? I'm not that naïve."

"What could I possibly want to do to you?" Obi Wan almost laughed. "Or are you afraid that I may trick you into speaking of something you don't wish to?"

"I'll tell you what I wish for you to know. You will receive nothing more." Maul countered rebelliously. "Do I need a reason other than your unremitting bother to want you to leave me?"

"You asked me before whether or not you were my sole responsibility—I said yes, you were." Obi Wan ended the argument with simply that, leaning back in his chair to symbolize that he wasn't going anywhere.

"Have it that way, then." Maul turned his head away where he lay and gave up the fight.

Obi Wan nodded and watched, brooding to himself as his prisoner was quiet. It wasn't as though he really enjoyed spending time here, but he guiltily suspected that he owed it to both his responsibility and the master that gave it to him to be more diligent in his task. This would all be over soon, he told himself. He would only have to watch over Maul for another fortnight, surely it couldn't be longer than that. Could it? It had already felt like months he had been stationed here; actual months would feel like eons. Not to mention that the more time Maul was kept from trial, the more opportunity he had to plot. Obi Wan wasn't quite sure what was so unsettling about that. Maul was heavily guarded by both soldier and Jedi—had his intent been to escape, he would be hard pressed to pull it off. As far as Maul had expressed, however, he had no plans to even try and escape. Of course, there was no sense taking that to heart. Provided with a chance, anyone would flee their captors.

As Obi Wan looked up, he realized that Maul had turned and was now staring back at him, an unsurprisingly annoyed expression resting on his features. Obi Wan met his eyes with a tired look himself that read as, to the best of his abilities, '_what_?'.

After a brief staring contest, Maul eventually grunted and shook his head. "Make yourself useful and pour me a drink."

Obi Wan turned his resentment inward and nodded, pulling himself to his feet on weary legs.

Maul watched Obi Wan pour a cup of water, eyes calculating. "Will this incident place a hesitation on my trial?" he asked, seemingly having intruded somewhere along the lines of Obi Wan's own thinking.

Obi Wan didn't answer for a moment, handing the cup to Maul. "Perhaps. Does that matter to you?"

"Not largely. Though expediency is appreciated, it is pointless to expect efficiency from the Republic. Aside from that, I'm certain you're more entertaining than your blathering delegates."

Obi Wan was a little surprised as he sat back down. That had to be the closest to a compliment a Sith could utter. "Delighted that I could be of service."

"You're still young." Maul said, much to Obi Wan's puzzlement. "How _is_ it that you've become as rigid and anal as your elders?"

Obi Wan narrowed his eyes. So this is what Maul meant by entertaining. He was looking to toy with him. "I suppose I'm just quick to excel." He responded dryly.

"I'm being sincere." Maul smirked. "Most young Jedi are headstrong and foolish. But you, you're every bit as crotchety and reserved as the others."

"I shall take that as a compliment." Obi Wan decided. "What of you, Maul? You're young as well. And yet, you're every bit as conceded and horrid as _your_ elders."

Maul fixed him with a sneer, and Obi Wan suddenly winced.

"…I apologize, there wasn't a reason for me to insult you. I'm only tired."

"Who's to say I didn't take that as a compliment?" Maul dismissed. "I am positively ill of hearing your dutiful apologies."

"Is that so? …Do forgive me." Obi Wan muttered, half jokingly and losing his ardor in his drained state.

"And how long will you stay there? Aren't you concerned with what I may do should you fall asleep?" Maul asked.

Obi Wan wasn't sure if Maul's chatters were out of boredom or whether they were simply a tactic to make Obi Wan leave. "No more than I'm concerned of what you will do at this moment."

"I at least know enough not to attack a Jedi before his senses are down."

"Well how very clever of you." Obi Wan answered absently, wondering what time it was. He was so very tired of these little bickers between himself and his prisoner. He felt as though it had been decades since he'd rested properly. And it didn't seem like he was going to get an opportunity to do so any time soon…

* * *

Obi Wan's eyes widened in a hazy attempt at clearing his mind, looking quickly around the room, only to be met by silence and the swift black of night. At first he panicked, thinking straight away that he had fallen asleep for hours this time—that something awful must've happened or…his consciousness slowly came around to rest in its usual state, and he realized that it couldn't have been more than a minute since he last opened his eyes. Maul still lay sleeping across from him. In the past few hours, Obi Wan had been trapped in a cycle of nodding off, only able to catch himself by the barest threads of coherency before he dropped into slumber completely.

His back was sore, his leg was asleep, and his eyes seemed permanently out of focus. He would have taken some time to meditate, but he felt as though the instant his eyes closed he would be unconscious once more. He was beginning to wonder if he shouldn't just leave his post and go to bed, but he was still wary about doing so. _The guards can handle the position, can't they?_ A voice in the back of his mind pointed out. _They haven't done much of a job so far…_he answered himself. After all, between shift confusion and Maul's sudden turn of health, he wasn't too keen on depending on anyone short of himself to do this job.

He studied Maul's still form for what was surely the hundredth time in the last ten minutes, thinking that by now he must've memorized every tattoo on that body. Despite the threats the dark lord had made, he was out cold and no threat to Obi Wan, who, begrudgingly, was indeed dull on the senses at the moment. Thinking about how pathetic that made the both of them at least gave Obi Wan a chuckle if nothing else. He leaned his cheek down on a palm as he watched…

Obi Wan quickly opened his eyes again, frustrated with himself for being so swift to nod off once more. Without some sort of break, he might as well have been standing watch with the guards for as much as he was straining himself here. To that credit, he was admittedly hungry as well. Straightening up and stretching a little, he resolved his foolish paranoia and leaned to stand…just as he sensed a sudden disturbance.

Obi Wan instantly froze, listening intently with both his physical and mental senses. Some danger was materializing, but what he could not be certain. The very instant his hand grazed the hilt of his lightsaber, however,

—he was flat on his back.

Obi Wan barely had time to register the attack, let alone prevent it, before he was staring up and the ceiling with a deep choke of breath from the force of the blow. If pain should accompany the hit, shock absolved it as the young Jedi lay in confusion. Gaining his wits back about him, he immediately rolled backwards up onto his feet. _Under attack!_ His senses screamed, but from what he hadn't the slightest clue. When he looked back towards the bed, he gaped in horror at the sight that awaited his quickly re-adjusting eyes.

A form trussed in a trim cloak had its back turned from him, poised above Maul's figure with an unsheathed white saber in hand. Obi Wan could not discern species, gender, and certainly not the identity of this creature, but its intentions became all too clear to him.

_Assassin! _

Obi Wan's saber was lit the moment the word crossed his mind and he launched forward as soon as his feet were stable. With a crack, saber met saber, the mysterious figure having turned just in time to catch the Jedi's blade awkwardly against its own, though it was half bent over the bed to avoid it. Obi Wan bore down hard, tiredness gone and crackling with the aura of a fight. This attacker had successfully caught him off guard, but it had made the grave mistake of not dealing a fatal strike to begin with.

Uttering out an obviously masculine grunt, the intruder flung Obi Wan back saber-wise, who recovered straight away with a graceful display of balance and held his weapon ready. His opponent seemed indecisive, glancing almost frantically from the bed to Obi Wan as he held his own weapon up in defense. Before Obi Wan could ask any questions, the cloaked man leapt back over the bed in a rolling somersault with either the objective of escape or to simply to put distance between them. Obi Wan pursued over the bed at once, swinging his saber diagonally to knock the other's away from its defensive positioning. The man was momentarily stunned away from the right direction, upon which Obi Wan reached out for him. As soon as he felt his fingers clutch fabric, he pulled gruffly and the cover around the assassin's head fell away to reveal a very unfamiliar human face.

The man drew his arm up in retaliation and threw Obi Wan's offending hand aside, an enraged glower on his face as he thrust his saber forward. Obi Wan was forced to back away and around the bed under the cycle of parries, clenching his teeth hard and careful to mind his surroundings in the darkness. He caught the leg of his tipped chair with an ankle as he backed up and flung it along the floor ahead of him towards his attacker's feet, who jumped the offending object with ease and elegantly continued his onslaught. Whoever this assailant was, he was no stranger to close-quarter sword combat. He also was clearly a fair bit older than Obi Wan himself, and possessed a surprising physical strength for his sleek size. Obi Wan braced himself hard on a particularly powerful blow and stumbled back into the middle of the room, ignoring the resonating pain that shook through his bones. As he raised his saber to deflect the next hit, however, he misjudged a single flicker in the darkness, and it was that which undid him.

While he caught the tip of the slashing saber with his own, his attacker leaned into him in the same moment and jerked up the hilt of his weapon straight into Obi Wan's jaw like a sledgehammer. His vision spiraled in an unforgiving whirl before he collided with the tile floor beneath him, a sickening crack echoing across the room where his head met the ground.

The first thing he was able to register from his sprawled out position was _agony_. The injury to the back of his head was apparently nothing minor. He desperately attempted to clutch at his saber, but it was no longer in his hand and his disoriented fingers groped thin air towards nothing. Each muscle he twitched sent a screaming pulse of pain back to his skull, but he tried to get up all the same. That effort was quickly put to a stop as a foot came down onto his chest, planting him back down to the floor like a helpless infant. Obi Wan could only stare up at his adversary with clouded and shocked eyes, his mind trying madly to find a way to gain the upper hand even as unconsciousness fought to embrace him.

The man sneered above him and held his saber ready to strike the killing blow. "Pity you had to interfere…" he uttered in a panting and gravelly voice. "My quarrel is not with the Jedi."

All Obi Wan knew next was a sudden flash of blue light, and a crackling buzz before his enemy was toppling to the ground in three neatly cut sections. Even as he saw this, his muddled head still anticipated the fatal strike that never came. The last thing he saw, before his vision blurred and blackened into nothing, was Maul standing above him, unsheathed saber in hand.


	18. Chapter 18

**Obdurate Heart – XVIII**

_Oh God, an update? Unheard of! To answer a question posed by Ija, I read in a bio somewhere along the line that when Maul died, he was twenty-five. So the story is based on that theory. Does anyone else know for sure how old he was? Anyway…thank you all, who are still bothering to read._

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"Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better." _**

**_- Albert Camus

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"Obi Wan?"

Obi Wan's eyes slowly began to open at the sensation of a gentle hand stroking the side of his face, the white light glaring in at him and the hazy image above him remaining unclear. He couldn't for the life of him understand where he was or why.

"There you are…" came the warm voice that his mind was at least awake enough to recognize as his master's. "It's about time you'd woken up you lazy dog, you."

"Woken up…?" Obi Wan was shocked at how haggard his own voice sounded to him.

"Take your time, Padawan, it will come back to you." Qui Gon said, and his blurry figure moved away momentarily. "Would you like some tea?"

"…I think so…yes." Obi Wan agreed, swallowing thickly and furrowing his brow. His head was terribly sore. Where had he been? Surely it must have been something rather drastic for all of this…

"You frightened me something awful, I must say." Qui Gon returned with a cup of tea as Obi Wan tentatively leaned up on his elbows with a groan. His vision slowly cleared up and he recognized his surroundings as the medical ward.

"I apologize, Master, I…" Obi Wan muttered, though unsure of what he was apologizing for at the moment. He carefully took the tea in hand and thought. He had been watching Maul, as usual, and…Had he fallen asleep? No, perhaps Maul had assaulted him…Or…someone…The assassin! The man, the—"Maul!" Obi Wan suddenly blurted, sitting up a little too fast and spilling tea into his lap. The events leading up to this came rushing back to him in one great flurry. His mind snapped back as though he was ready to jump directly into the fight again. "What happened? Did he escape?"

"Easy, Padawan," Qui Gon quickly coaxed the tea away from him and shook his head. "There's no need to get in such a panic. Darth Maul yet remains in captivity, nothing was lost. The greatest concern, at the moment, is you."

Obi Wan let his chest drop in relief, accepting a towel to clean himself up a little. "I…I don't understand…" he said helplessly, holding a hand to his head. "Maul didn't…kill me?"

"Kill you?" Qui Gon chuckled. "Quite the opposite, really. Not only did he dispatch your new friend, but he also took it upon himself to fetch the guard."

Obi Wan stared blankly for a moment, shaking his head and trying to process this ludicrous event in his head. "…He…_Maul_…saved _my_ life?"

"An eye for an eye, I suppose. Though I did not suspect a Sith would honor something of this nature…"

"Oh…yes…" Obi Wan was still partially in shock, taking his tea once more and sipping from it. "Who…Was it found who this assassin was?" Brief flickers of the man's image raced through his mind.

"Yes." Qui Gon nodded as he set to pour himself a cup. "Omad Vavesto. A previous inhabitant of Tatooine."

"Should I know this name, Master?"

"I shouldn't think so, no." Qui Gon leaned casually by his patient's bedside and drank.

"Well who was he?"

"As far as status, he was no one known. To our best knowledge, he was a mere nomad with a score to settle. Or perhaps Maul's head is worth something somewhere, I wouldn't doubt that either. I'm afraid that with his death, we may never truly know."

"I see…" Obi Wan drew out a lengthy breath. "How was it that he passed the guards?"

"A crafty fellow he turned out to be. He managed to find a way through the roofing. A maneuver that required great strength—but then he'd need that to deal you a hit as hard as he did."

"And what is the extent of my injury?"

"A nasty concussion and a chipped tooth, but you're perfectly well off now. You need only rest a bit more than I hear you have been."

Obi Wan rubbed his jaw and consciously ran a tongue over his lower teeth, catching a previously nonexistent notch. "I've been resting, Master, I just…"

Qui Gon raised an eyebrow at him.

"…Er…alright, Master, yes." He agreed.

"Good." Qui Gon nodded and set his cup down. "I'm curious, Obi Wan, have you actually forged some sort of truce between yourself and Maul?"

"Certainly not." Obi Wan shrugged quickly, touching lightly at the back of his head.

"Hm. So then I suppose the aim of his rescue may not have been so valiant." Qui Gon grinned.

"Perhaps not…" Obi Wan shook his head and looked out the door thoughtfully. "Though I fully intend to find out."

* * *

"I see you're still alive." Maul said rather flatly as he noted the Jedi's presence in the room once more. 

Obi Wan waved a hand slightly to dismiss the guards that had taken post inside the room, clearing his throat. "That's really what I came here to talk about."

"How interesting." Maul didn't move from his position, flat on his back with his hands resting on his stomach. Clearly he was taking this situation in stride, as he seemed to do most.

Obi Wan slowly approached the chair and sat, remaining silent for a moment as he looked over his shoulder at the departing guards. "…I suppose I should start by thanking you."

Maul smirked carelessly and licked an upper lip. "Then by all means, do so."

Obi Wan fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Thank you, Maul, for saving my life. Whether you did so out of impulse or to settle whatever score there was between us."

Maul's eyes went to focus on Obi Wan at last, annoyed. "That really is assuming something, now, isn't it? Let us not forget that had that pitiable dolt killed you, I was rather next on his list, hm?"

Obi Wan broke out in a grin before he could stop himself. "Come now. The death of a Jedi and you would have been spared all consequence. Surely you could have killed him after he'd done your dirty work and gotten rid of your most avid nuisance."

Maul offered an expression that stated his distaste plainly. "Truth be told, I was under the impression that he already had."

"Well now you're just lying." Obi Wan accused. "No one poses to kill after they've killed. You came to my rescue, you didn't want to see me killed—you actually _like_ me, don't you?" He couldn't get rid of his grin, as this deduction was quite amusing.

"If you are looking for me to admit something, I will make this confession," Maul leaned up on an elbow with a growl. "Compared to your brethren, I find you _tolerable_. Though if you knew how very little that was saying, you wouldn't be grinning like the damned idiot you are."

"You would admit that? Well now, I certainly fancy that something…" Obi Wan feigned being greatly pleased, which, in turn, ignited stirring embers in Maul's poor mood.

"I would kill you with no more hesitation." Maul added.

"Yes, and apparently save me in that same rush." Obi Wan continued. Maul moved to speak, but Obi Wan wouldn't allow it. "Don't let it humiliate you so, Maul, I was the one that rushed into the fight to save _you_. And for the second time, it would've been!"

"Pest!" Maul pounded his fist down on the bed and snarled wolfishly. "This is the gratitude I get from a Jedi?"

"Was the gratitude I received kinder?" Obi Wan suddenly turned more serious.

"You received what you should have expected. But for a Jedi to mock the face of his savior—I am disappointed."

"_You_ never even _thanked_ me." Obi Wan pointed out. "And what is it you're telling me? That I should expect less from the Sith?"

"Of course you should. If you're expecting the same etiquette the Jedi bestow then what the Hell do you take me for?"

Obi Wan blinked and sat up a little, perplexed. "…So you do admit that the Jedi are better, in manner if nothing else."

Maul paused, narrowing his eyes. "They are seen as more noble, are they not? Should I expect you to be the cynical fool you're behaving as?"

"I could ask you the same question."

"And my answer would be yes."

"Why?"

"Because I would expect better from a Jedi than I would from a Sith and as should you, do you not understand this?" Maul turned up a palm incredulously as though he were explaining something so universally known and simple.

"I thought that expectations were presumptuous, or so you say." Obi Wan reminded. He had finally pinned Maul, he could at last predict him. At least, that was what he thought until he realized that his last statement was met by a smirk rather than anger…

Maul was eying him with some odd look that Obi Wan couldn't quite grasp, but if he could call it anything, he might call it smugness…it made him uncomfortable. "Perhaps I was not wrong about you..."

Obi Wan rose up a little, studying Maul warily. "Oh?"

"…Perhaps you _are_ different from the other Jedi. That impudent streak in you, I wonder just how far it could stretch."

"You're impressed by my impudence." He returned blankly. "I suppose that's high praise from one who specializes in it."

"You have a rebellious spirit. And yet, you shackle it to the Jedi." Maul looked him over before lying back down.

"I see, so I should have chosen the path of the Sith." Obi Wan nodded and leaned back as well.

"No—" Maul answered and paused as though trying to find more to say.

"No?" Obi Wan questioned curiously.

"…Must one be chosen over the other?" Maul muttered back. "Or is freedom so incomprehensible to you?"

Obi Wan looked down briefly as he considered Maul's words, stopping short at a certain thought. Freedom? "…Maul…" he began as he creased his brow. "…If I might ask, in all honesty and without intruding upon your morals…" No, it was a foolish thing to ask. Any man right about his head would know the answer to such things. You did not implore evil to explain to you its motive, and you did not expect a sense of conscience from a Sith Lord. And yet, he was compelled. "…do you regret your place among the Sith? In any way?"

Shadows seemed to gather closer under the pressing silence that had wedged itself between them. Maul said nothing.


	19. Chapter 19

**Obdurate Hear – XIX**

_Another chapter.__ Thanks a bunch, guys, thanks for reading and commenting. If fewer were reading it, I probably wouldn't even bother, since writer's block has been on my ass lately. But I think (I hope) this story is starting to come back to me. Much love to all._

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"Our own heart--and not other men's opinions--forms our true honor." _**

**_- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

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"You will very much have to forgive me, ambassador." Qui Gon implored sincerely as he bowed a bit. "I had not received word of your coming."

"And did my arrival necessitate a warning, Master Jin?" queried the man as he stepped swiftly along, the Jedi Master keeping an easy pace.

"A warning, no. It is nevertheless…unexpected." Qui Gon stopped outside the chamber and pressed his hands together, smiling politely.

Ambassador Rig Tallo Dulan was clearly not in such an obliging mood as his greeter, a pensive and tired crook fixed about his wiry eyebrows. "Do you have the body in custody?"

"Yes of course." Qui Gon nodded quickly, gesturing a hand to the door, upon which it slid open.

Dulan stepped in purposefully and strode to the slab upon which an encased corpse lay, resting his long fingers atop the shoulder of the figure. After a moment, the hand fell back to the side of his rust-colored and slightly tattered tunic, his head bowing to spill strands of grayish hair over his weathered face. Qui Gon stood respectively behind at the doorway, watching this solemn procession with contained inquisitiveness. The ambassador turned back to Qui Gon in a silent sigh and folded his hands. "I see."

"And this…Omad, he was a member of your organization I take it?" Qui Gon stepped into the chamber.

"Yes, yes he was." Dulan confirmed. "But I ask you not to think of his actions as being representative of our fellowship. We are not assassins, nor would we condone such a base profession to meet our objectives."

"I understand wholly." Qui Gon assured.

"I apologize for his interference with your duties before we could convey a more peaceful message to your council." He continued. "But was his death so unpreventable?"

"I'm afraid his demise was quite out of our hands, ambassador. The struggle between himself and Maul ended poorly. It is unfortunate that we were unable to intervene in time to resolve the issue, and I personally accept responsibility." There was no reason to drag young Obi wan into this, after all.

Dulan's eyes widened grimly for a brief moment, the whiskers of his face twitching waywardly. "So it was the enemy who killed him?"

"One of ours would not have dealt a method so brutal." Qui Gon looked upon the corpse, rearranged under its encasement so as not to reveal its sectioned state.

Dulan's chest expanded and he looked to the side, seeming to repress something. "How unsettling…"

"Shall I arrange some form of transport for the body?" Qui Gon offered.

"No. Such arrangements have been made. I will be on my way shortly, but I wonder…if I might discuss the matter before I take my leave." Dulan motioned for Qui Gon to walk with him as he exited the room, keeping his walk leisurely.

Qui Gon followed, listening intently. He was not entirely certain what further issue there was to discuss.

"Am I correct in the impression that Lord Maul is yet living and in your guardianship?" he began, and Qui Gon nodded. "…I see. And might I ask the circumstances of his trial?"

"I'm sorry to say that the trial is rather a complicated issue. The prisoner assumedly has valuable information, which we are hoping he will part with for his own sake. It is, however, unlikely."

"Information." Dulan repeated, furrowing his brow and appearing to be thinking to himself. "Surely you know that a Sith lord would never reveal his master…"

"Commonly, no." Qui Gon agreed. "Though…I am beginning to wonder if it is really such an impossibility." He momentarily thought of his Padawan, and the odd happenings surrounding his rescue.

"And what is he to gain provided that he does cooperate?" Dulan demanded tonelessly.

"That is not for me to decide, nor am I privileged to know just yet what Master Yoda has planned. Honestly, I am not certain that he has decided himself."

"Master Jin, surely you know the plight of my people." Dulan held a hand slightly as though asking something.

"With all due respect, ambassador, I can't say that I truly do." Qui Gon contested.

"Maul has committed crimes throughout the galaxy, he has murdered and pillaged hundreds."

"The Jedi Council is far from having forgotten this."

"Are they so far?" Dulan placed his hands behind his back, something of a glower in his features. "Do they remember the women and children he has slaughtered as they offer him a lenient sentence?"

"I assure you, sir, no sentence of his will be light." Qui Gon said, shaking his head.

"Any sentence barring death is light. With the life he has taken, it is already a grave injustice that he has but one life to offer in return, but this execution _must_ take place." Dulan insisted adamantly. "He can be offered no solace from his punishment. It is an atrocity simply that he is now sitting safely in captivity, let alone that he should be kept that way for the remainder of his days."

"Surely your larger quarrel is with the Sith as a whole, not with one mere lord. There is yet a master who hides his identity, and it is he that we pursue first and foremost. Maul is only a puppet, and if sparing his life is the cost of revealing his overlord, so be it."

"Maul is no _mere_ lord." Dulan took a step forward. "You are not a constant witness to the orphans and widows made under his hand because you do not live among them as I do. You do not see how he has left so many in utter shambles, nor the homes he has destroyed, nor the scars and cripplings. The Sith are not villains to be punished, they are a scourge to be eradicated. Does the Jedi Council not agree?"

"Indeed it does agree. Though we are not willing to jeopardize the possibility of bringing down a more powerful foe for the sake of it."

"Can he not be executed after having given you the name you so desire?"

"There would be no honor in such an action. We do not speak our words only to betray them." Qui Gon pointed out simply.

"There can be no honor when dealing with the Sith."

Qui Gon drew in a breath, eyes scanning his surroundings. "That is where we disagree."

Dulan held out his hands as if in plea. As he spoke, two men approached from behind, who were quickly waved past and shuffled into the chamber for Omad's body. "Evil cannot be pushed away. It cannot be held down, it cannot be stowed in a cage. It must be _killed_, can you not see this?"

Qui Gon raised a hand as though to calm him. "Either way, ambassador, this is not a discussion that has any pertinence outside of the Council's dealings. I have no authority over this."

"Yes but surely you have some influence." Dulan stepped forward, ignoring his men as they shifted back out of the room, corpse in tow.

"I must advise you to send your diplomat, as I can be of no service to your cause."

Dulan gave a lengthy sigh and bowed his head. "I only ask that you speak for those that have suffered so greatly under Lord Maul's tyrannous onslaughts." He gazed on as the remains of the former Omad Vavesto drew past him, hidden under a blackening shroud. "There are fewer and fewer these days who would do so…"

Qui Gon bowed once more as Ambassador Dulan turned away and went back to his ship.


	20. Chapter 20

**Obdurate Heart – XX**

_Thanks again to all who reviewed. Sorry again for the wait. I hope I don't disappoint you guys! I have less time to write on this, it seems, but it's still going. I really don't have plans to cancel it. I have it planned out, so, we'll see what happens._

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Man's power of choice enables him to think like an angel or a devil, a king or a slave. Whatever he chooses, mind will create and manifest._**

**_- Frederick Bailes

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Bizarre as it was, and as inconceivable as it may have seemed to some, the interaction between Obi Wan and Maul had evolved to a level that one might deign to call amicable. During the next two days, it was almost as though they had never been enemies at all. Obi Wan decided that it just must have been pointless to carry on as they had been, since neither had any say over the other. Maul could not change Obi Wan's duties to make him go away, and Obi Wan could not neglect that duty, and in that some form of understanding set upon them at last.

"You could do with some better guards." Maul informed, chipping a thumbnail idly over a horn. "They're frightened of me. Even now."

"I would think you'd take pride in that." Said Obi Wan as he offered a tray of solid foods.

Maul looked down at it with an unasked question, shrugging one striped shoulder. "I was trained to cause fear, yes, but I grow very tired of those who allow it to inhibit them. Even if that is its function. It bores me. The galaxy is indeed a cowardice place—do you realize that there are even those who would fear _you_?"

"I can't imagine." He replied as he sat down with his own usual cup of tea. "…But shouldn't they fear you Maul? Would you not kill them were they out of line or attack at will? Perhaps it isn't even so much fear as it is the caution to stay a safe distance from a rabid animal."

"So does that make you bold or stupid?" Maul glared at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you brave, or are you just rattling my cages?"

"I don't fear you, if that's what you think." Obi Wan shook his head. He of course would not admit that initially, a part of him had.

"Ah. Then you think I'm an animal." Maul chuckled and prodded what was on his tray.

Obi Wan watched him for the moment. It was rare that Maul even seemed to hunger, and when he did eat, it was sparingly. Perhaps food was low on a Sith apprentice's priorities. It was hard to get over the drab irony that as a prisoner, Maul was most likely receiving some of the finer treatment of his life. "An animal, no. A danger, yes."

"…And if I were not a Sith, what then?"

"That depends." Obi Wan mused. "In this scenario, have I seen your ability with the saber?"

"Would you fear me as anything else, were I not a Sith?" he restated.

"…If your cruelties were commensurate, yes."

"Hm." Maul nodded as if in approval, tapping his fork into something and biting it.

"You're asking me to look at you simply as a man. Does that mean you aren't proud of your Sith association?" he asked, surprising himself by sounding almost hopeful.

"I am not ashamed of it." Maul replied casually. "It is a way of life. The one I was taken into."

"How can you identify so with the Sith? …They took away your options. You were forced to be what you are, how is it that you can respect that over the way of the Jedi?"

"Choice." Maul stared at Obi Wan harshly, setting down his utensil. "Because the Jedi have a choice, those options that most Sith do not have. You _choose_ to be a Jedi, not because you are threatened otherwise or because there is no other way, but because you believe it is just. You are presented with a _choice_ between freedom and the chains of one affiliate, and you _choose_ the latter… That is what sickens me about your Order."

Obi Wan hesitated, his tea forgotten where it sat on his knee. "…Oh." Was all he managed to say.

"Oh." Maul repeated with distaste. "Now you tell me. What pride do you have in being a Jedi?"

Obi Wan mentally shrugged at such a very simple question. "In my humble opinion, servitude to justice is of the highest calling."

"Justice cannot be served outside of the Jedi Order?"

"It seems that it very seldom is."

"And how would you know this?" Maul took another bite and kept his eyes on Obi Wan, looking genuinely intrigued. "You have never seen justice or injustice from any other point of view aside from the communal brain of your council."

"Do not presume to know where my path has taken me, Maul." Obi Wan ordered, and Maul backed off with a snort. "Despite what you might think, I am not a mindless drone. I do have my own priorities, it is simply that so many of them coincide with the Jedi teachings."

"How convenient." Maul muttered. "And what would happen to you if you should betray those teachings in light of a disagreement?"

"I don't think I shall ever disagree with them." Obi Wan returned easily. How could he, after all?

"If the Jedi instructed you to do something you felt to be unjust, would you refuse, or would you convince yourself that it is right for the sake of obedience?"

Obi Wan opened his mouth, eyes narrowing in contemplation. "I trust in the council enough to believe that they would never instruct me to do something I could not."

"I see. And so you have agreed with them in every matter?"

"Master Yoda is very wise. Far more so than I, I have no reason to distrust whatever decision he makes."

"My master is also wise." Maul said ominously, and Obi Wan hesitated with a sudden dutiful hope to hear more on that subject. "…That does not prove his commands, nor his decisions, just."

"…Master Yoda can be compared in no way to a Sith." Obi Wan said rather defensively.

"And if he asked you to betray your heart, what then? To betray what _you_ love? If he asks you tomorrow to plunge a saber into your master's heart, would you do this? Or the boy, would you kill the child? When faced with the choice between duty and honor, which do you choose?"

"That is completely absurd." Obi Wan stated loudly. "Maul, I certainly don't see your point in all of this. Which would _you_ choose?"

"Duty, of course." Maul said without wait. "Under the Sith's hand, duty is all one knows."

"And so, by your own admission that you yourself are corrupt, you're telling me that honor is the correct choice?"

"Perhaps. My larger point is that you would also choose duty. My point is that, like me, you _are _a drone. A pawn. That our kinds are more alike than you would condescend to believe." Maul's voice had turned much darker, his eyes boring into his company in an unforgiving way. "How far will you allow them to push you?"

Obi Wan chose to say nothing to that, challenging the stare that was placed upon him.

"Is that braid of yours really considered fashionable?" Maul spoke after only a few moments.

Obi Wan struggled in a moment of confusion as he attempted to correlate that statement to the previous one. "…It is a Padawan braid." He explained.

"So that's it then." Maul nodded, rubbing a finger under his chin slightly.

"I could ask you about the tattoos."

"Do you know nothing of my species?"

"I know but a little. But I've never seen ones like yours."

"I'm sure I could not give you your prying answers, these were not my choice." He swept a hand over the flat of his chest in disregard.

"…I'm sorry, I don't know why I would assume that they were." Obi Wan slowly let his eyes travel a striped wrist closest to him. He did not know what it must have been like to have your body so marked and not to truly understand why. Though he was far from pitying Maul.

Maul suddenly seemed rather uncomfortable about having said that. "…If you're so enamored with them, perhaps they will let you keep my hide as a trophy after the execution."

Obi Wan's eyes widened slightly. "What a horrific thing to say."

"I wonder if you'll be there. In the front ranks, watching my trial, nodding to yourself in approval as the deed is done and justice is served." Maul snickered and pushed his half-eaten plate away.

Obi Wan could think of nothing to combat that with, but he was rather disturbed by this point.

"Keep your eyes in your head, fool, I'm toying with you." Maul smirked, almost seeming to offer those words in assurance.

"…I don't find it humorous." Obi Wan spoke bitterly as he leaned forward to clear Maul's tray from him. As he reached, however, his hand was halted by another encircling his wrist, making him pause and bristle. Though it held nothing of the force with which he had been snatched before, it was nevertheless a demanding grip.

Maul turned Obi Wan's wrist over in his hand casually, and Obi Wan's own eyes traveled downward to examine for himself the contrast of pale flesh against rich reds and ebony. "In that case, why don't I add one more useless apology to your list?" Maul chuffed sarcastically, though his tone was perversely gentler than before.

Obi Wan felt his skin grow hot, but he kept his expression stoic. "I'd thank you not to damage this arm further."

"You do not fear me." Maul stated, and he seemed to enjoy something about this.

"I don't." Obi Wan attempted to keep his voice steady, vastly unsettled by the powerful hand that kept him still.

"And yet, even now, I could easily kill you."

"You could easily try." Obi Wan corrected.

With a fast but painless jerk, Maul brought Obi Wan closer, eyes smoldering. "Obstinate fool…" he nearly purred, and Obi Wan attempted to recoil, to no avail. Maul drew up his other hand to grip the Jedi's chin, forcing him to tilt his head a little as he studied the face before him.

Obi Wan knew that he should pull away for the sake of his own safety, but his appalled curiosity made him oddly willing to see what this madman was doing.

Maul continued to check his form over as though he were surveying the quality of some stock animal. "You're persistent." He uttered, and Obi Wan found it strange that he did not shudder as he felt two fingers sweep intrusively down his cheek. "That much was clear the moment I laid eyes on you. But you are also unusually strong…and I find that very…interesting."

"Flattering to know, I'm sure…" Obi Wan carefully lifted a hand to push Maul's away from his face, not moving his eyes from his prisoner's. "I'd very much love my arm back."

"Don't stress yourself, I'm not going to harm you…" Maul continued, ignoring the request. "Does it bother you to be touched? Have the Jedi made you so robotic?"

"It is not the hand, it is the one it belongs to." Obi Wan felt himself pull back a little in distrust.

"Touch is an interesting thing…" Maul mused. "It hurts no matter how gentle, doesn't it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. In fact I feel as though I never do." He spouted honestly.

"Don't you? You are cold, perhaps not plainly, but it is there. You are like your elders, as I've said before. Nothing can touch you, and when it does…when it breaks past your barriers of emotional repression…it scars." That smirk was still lying carelessly on his face.

Obi Wan swallowed and hardened his expression, growing very apprehensive. "…Is that your aim, then? You think you can scar me?"

Maul gripped his hand back forcefully at Obi Wan's chin. "Not all scars are damning." And with that, he quickly caught the young Jedi's lip with his own.

Obi Wan tried to bark out his protest, but he was quickly muffled, and hopelessly paralyzed with mortification. He was instantly sick to his stomach, but his mouth was gaped in shock, and that only served to defeat his resistance entirely. In a flash his senses kicked in, and he tried to pull back, only to be pulled further in instead. The hand that was pinned to the bed gripped at Maul's wrist as though pleading him to stop and his chest heaved in a mixture of anger and panic, but he couldn't find the strength to shove away from it. He was slowly going limp, unable to process. When he felt the hand at his jaw loosen, however, it spurred in him some strange renewal of strength and he tore himself away, stumbling up and nearly falling back as he retreated.

He clumsily knocked over his chair and fell back a few more steps, wiping a hand along his mouth and staring at Maul in horror, who was watching him coolly from his relaxed position. He opened his mouth, trying to speak, but nothing would come, the simple madness of it rendering him completely disoriented. As he slowly regained his ability to reflect, anger grew quickly within him. "Don't—!" he cried out. "Don't ever do that again!" He didn't think he had ever heard his own voice so uncontrollable.

Maul kept an eerie calmness on his features, scratching his chest lazily as he watched Obi Wan's flustered retreat. "Did I frighten you?" he drawled.

"I am not frightened!" Obi Wan snapped firmly. "I am disgusted that such a—that you would have the audacity to—" he held a hand to his head and tried hard to speak clearly. "You are a twisted and sadistic loon. That was a completely unacceptable and atrocious act, and I—"

"And you over-exaggerate." Maul shook his head, watching him carefully.

Obi Wan moved forward in anger, but then stepped back, eyes glancing at both Maul and around the room as though he were looking for some witness to prove to him the insanity of the situation. "I think I've had quite enough of you for today." He said as his eyes returned to his offender, and he set himself to turning his chair upright in a hurry.

"Have you?" Maul watched Obi Wan's frantic movements lazily.

Obi Wan didn't say another word as he snatched the tray away and marched out of the room.


	21. Chapter 21

**Obdurate Heart – XXI**

_Again, thanks so much to you reviewers. No way in Hell would I still be writing this one if I didn't know people liked it. Also, even if I don't stay in one fandom long, if anyone's interested, I do have a livejournal account which I pretty much just use to write updates on what fan fictions I'm writing. That way if I stop a fic or start a new one, you'll know. A link is in my bio, or you can search for morning(underscore)hell. (Underscores don't show up when I post this. Or links. Why is that?) Thanks again—enjoy._

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"You can't give up hope just 'cause its hopeless! You gotta hope even more, and cover your ears and go BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH!"_**

**_-Fry, from Futurama

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_**

Positive madness. That's all this was. Obi Wan was fraught with both an anger he could not dismiss and an exhaustion that threatened to bring him to his knees from yet another sleepless night over his priority of guarding Maul. He rubbed his hands over his face harshly and stared out over the balcony at the city lying below, trying to bring himself to a calm. There was no sense in getting so upset over these things. He should have suspected that Maul would find a new way to get under his skin once found that Obi Wan would not be baited in by insults. Had he actually been so dense as to place standards when it came to a Sith Lord? Well, if Maul thought he'd gotten the better of him, he was sorely mistaken to do so.

He half-consciously wiped at a corner of his mouth with a sleeve, still somehow convinced that he could taste whatever Maul had been eating the previous day. The very thought made him sneer inwardly, tapping his fingers in some nonsensical impatience against the railing before him. He couldn't help but think ruefully that in some way, Maul had produced his desired effect. He didn't think he would ever be able to shake the feeling of that horrible…No, it was foolish just to dwell upon the act itself without adding in the babbling words leading up to it. Positive madness. That's all this was.

"You appear troubled, my apprentice."

Obi Wan turned quickly over a shoulder to see his master, blinking a couple of times in surprise and embarrassment that he had been too distracted even to register the presence of he to whom he was closest. "Master, I apologize, I didn't…"

"No need." Qui Gon waved a hand, casually approaching to stand at his side. "How is your head?"

"…It doesn't bother me." Obi Wan said, straightening up. "Is there any news?"

"Yes, actually." Qui Gon nodded, glancing around for a brief moment as though to ensure no prying passerby was listening in. "It seems as though your attacker was no independent after all."

"Really?" Obi Wan perked a little in interest, momentarily forgetting his inner worries enough to ponder this.

"Yes, I was quite surprised myself. I was recently met by an ambassador of their people who came to retrieve the corpse. It turns out that he was a part of an autonomous organization centralized on the outskirts of Tatooine. Mainly it is comprised of those who have been devastated by any sort of Sith destruction, or so it is to the best of my knowledge. A charitable community, of sorts."

"And this is the organization that sent us an assassin?" Obi Wan asked, pointing out the obvious irony.

"He was sent under his own power, as it was explained to me. I don't believe I have any reason to suspect otherwise."

"I have not heard of this community."

"They have no political power, nor any authority, really." Qui Gon rubbed his beard for a moment and chuckled. "Though you wouldn't know it from a few minutes with Ambassador Dulan. Quite the pious fellow."

"I see. But why an ambassador, Master?"

"At first I thought it was only to issue a proper apology. However, it appears that his motive was a bit different than I had supposed." Qui Gon glanced back in the direction of Maul's chamber. "As can be understood, Dulan and the people he represent highly advocate the execution of Darth Maul."

Obi Wan felt his stomach drop. "…What?"

"Well yes." Qui Gon turned back to him. "I can certainly see it from their viewpoint, whether or not I agree. Maul has given enough death for it to be returned to him."

"Killing him would be a drastic measure." Obi Wan insisted.

"Perhaps." Qui Gon nodded. "They will be sending a representative to the Council to make their case. It might even be Dulan himself. I suppose it is only fair hear their side of—"

"The Council is willing to _indulge_ this nonsense?" Obi Wan interrupted sharply in disbelief. "An eye for an eye? Has that ever been an operative method? The Council cannot simply destroy such an integral component based purely off the outrages of the public—what would we be then but showmen acting to appease blind belligerence?"

"Don't lose your head, Padawan." Instructed Qui Gon with a slightly bewildered look. "I'm only saying that they have a right to be spoken for and heard."

Obi Wan gaped numbly for a moment before putting a hand to his head and leaning back against the rail. "No, I…apologize again, th-that outburst was completely…" he gazed up at Qui Gon with a guilty expression. "Am I being childish?"

"You are being passionate." Qui Gon smirked. "I can sense that you have not slept, Obi Wan, I don't blame you for being a tad on edge."

"That's hardly an excuse." Obi Wan uttered, still rather surprised he had been so inclined to snap when speaking to his own master.

"It's alright." Qui Gon offered an affectionate pat of the shoulder, smiling at him with that ever-present understanding. "How is our prisoner as of late?"

Obi Wan felt his stomach wrench suddenly. "…He…is well, I think." He replied slowly. "He seems to be recovering. I plan to have the medic check in on him soon to confirm."

"Very good." Qui Gon approved.

"And…how is Anakin? I haven't seen much of him at all as of late." Obi Wan realized that it had been days since the boy had even crossed his mind.

"He's doing quite well. He's made friends, and he's managed to show the other children a great deal about mechanics. Not that they always share his interest." He chuckled, moving to gaze over the edge of the balcony for himself.

"He does have charisma."

"Yes. He still asks about you, you know." Qui Gon turned over a shoulder slightly and raised an eyebrow at his apprentice as though to say, 'what do you think of that?'.

"How much of this incident have you told him?"

"I did not tell him about the assassin. I think such things would only worry a child." Qui Gon admitted. "But if I know Anakin, I'm sure he'll somehow learn of it on his own."

"Hm." Obi Wan nodded, though his thoughts parted easily with the child and went back to his more pressing quarrels. "…Master…do you really think that we, or the Council, will be at all successful in drawing any answers from Maul?" he couldn't help but return to the subject.

Qui Gon thought for a moment, studying the younger man as though the answer was written on his face. "Truly, I do not know." He said mysteriously. "I would think only you could know the answer to that."

Obi Wan's shoulders sank a little, and he pushed back a sigh. That really didn't help him any.

Sensing his Padawan's troubled state, Qui Gon sought to remedy, again resting a hand to his shoulder. "You are so concerned with likelihood and practicality. You depend on them more than you should." He said, almost in sympathy.

Obi Wan met his eyes in confusion. "…What else am I to depend on?"

Qui Gon laughed aloud, squeezing his shoulder once, and Obi Wan was tempted to feel rather stupid. Qui Gon shook his head and removed his hand. "Hope, Obi Wan. Have you forgotten that?"

"Forgive me, Master, but I am almost certain that my methods have thus far been hopeless."

"That's no reason to give up. And let's not exclude the possibility of miracles, hm?" Qui Gon looked over the city once more with a knowing smile. "Most things are not as rigid and solid as you believe them to be."

"Then I suppose that's one thought towards your cause." Obi Wan sighed softly, following his master's gaze. "Because I hope you're right."


	22. Chapter 22

**Obdurate Heart – XXII**

_Wow. Okay, so, don't hate me for this chapter. Sort of short.Anyway, as to where I find my quotes—various places. They're all over the place! Thanks guys._

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"It is wonderful how much time good people spend fighting the devil. If they would only expend the same amount of energy loving their fellow men, the devil would die in his own tracks of ennui." _**

**_- Hellen Keller

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The tray in Obi Wan's hands felt heavy as he stood before the chamber door, unwilling to make this daily check-up on the troublesome captive Darth Maul but still certain that it was improper to neglect such a task. As he came past the guards stationed outside of the room, they greeted him with nothing more than a casual glance, but he felt as though they could somehow sense his unease. He felt just as surely that their eyes were on his back as he made his way in, though he knew in his mind that this was not so.

Obi Wan did not bother his eyes with the sight of Maul as he came in, instead going to the bedside table and setting the tray in order with his eyes fixed upon it. If it turned out that his prisoner was sleeping, there was no reason to draw this visit out. He had had it with the bickering and the idiotic chatter between them, and he would be grateful for any opportunity to avoid it.

"Mm. Not even a 'good evening'."

So much for his hopes. He slowly drew his eyes towards where Maul was sitting up and sighed. "I thought perhaps we could do without the meaningless pleasantries."

"That seems rather unlike you."

Obi Wan stepped away from the tray and faced Maul sternly. "Despite all of your wit and your over-evaluative drivel, _you_ do not know me."

Maul narrowed his eyes a bit and snorted, rubbing part of his naked upper arm. "I see. So you're still angry with me for kissing you."

Obi Wan scowled and felt himself redden terribly. "I'm not angry."

"I suppose I'd be disappointed if you weren't." Maul chuckled to himself. "At least you feel something."

"So long as you're happy." Obi Wan said coldly, and he despised how tangible the anger was in his tone. With that, he turned to leave.

"You're afraid." Maul accused defiantly from behind him, seeming greatly annoyed.

Obi Wan stopped hesitantly. "I am not afraid of you."

"Of course you aren't afraid of me. You're too busy being afraid of yourself." Maul growled. "You're a _coward_. You don't wish to deal with the matter at hand, and so you run away from it."

"Oh that's rich, that really is." Obi Wan whipped back around and came closer to the bed, glaring down at him. "How convenient for you to call this running away. Did you ever think that perhaps I just didn't like you? That perhaps _that_ is why I wish to leave so quickly?"

"Well now either way you're allowing yourself to be governed by emotion, aren't you?" Maul returned with a sneer.

"No." Obi Wan said instantly, though he could only flounder for words after. "…You are a despicable creature!"

"Not so much as you!" Maul bore his teeth. "Fine then, if this is to be simple, I've repaid my debt to you! My life for yours, your life for mine, so find another Jedi for the task, go on about your uptight brainlessness and leave me be!"

Obi Wan leaned forward more aggressively. "Nothing would make me happier!"

"Then do it!"

"Gladly!"

To his own horror, Obi Wan didn't even protest at the hands that snatched the front of his tunic and pulled him down. There was some kind of a struggle that, through his anger and confusion, he didn't quite understand, but in a matter of moments, he was on the bed and pinned under Maul, who—he hoped—had been the one to initiate a now suffocating and uncomfortable kiss. What was worse was that he could only complain to this with a growl. He was countering the kiss with his own before he realized it, but at the same time, his body writhed and jerked in search for escape.

"But that would really be unorthodox, wouldn't it?" Maul hissed as Obi Wan successfully broke away from the kiss. "Having another Jedi fill in for the position you've worked so hard to attain?" he emphasized this with a heavy push down into Obi Wan's trapped body.

"Whatever should relieve me of you!" Obi Wan spat back, still struggling but meeting his gaze with his own in refusal. His words were only cut again by a rough kiss.

"There you are again with that anger you deny so much." Maul pointed out as he drew back.

"I'm not angry!" he denied hopelessly.

"Still stubborn." Yet again Obi Wan was halted by a mouth against his own.

Obi Wan jerked his head away, feeling as though his chest would explode with a scream. "I have every right to be angry!" he shouted.

Maul looked down at him fiercely, a hand resting on a row of Obi Wan's ribs. One push from the powerful hand could snap them, but it dealt no more than a predatory caress. "Yes. You do. And you are, and it feels good to be angry when it is right, does it not?"

Obi Wan kept his scowl, clenching his teeth hard and shifting his shoulders futilely. His green eyes narrowed and bore into Maul's completely untamed. It was he who initiated the next kiss, though his limbs still fought for freedom while as his lips and tongue betrayed them. It was almost a childish retaliation, as though just to show Maul that he could outdo him whatever the task, so even despite the passionate nature of their circumstance, this was still a battle. The only difference was that Obi Wan was fighting purely for his pride as opposed to his life. And as in a battle, there were no more words. Where a lover would deal a gentle touch and an enemy would deal a blow, an odd middle ground seemed to be reached in the movements they chose against one another. Maul restrained Obi Wan's escape roughly but not bruisingly, and Obi Wan struggled against him with vehemence but not desperation. In reality, Maul could have stopped the Jedi's resisting, and in reality, Obi Wan could have pushed the Sith Lord away, but reality had long since ceased to be a clarity in certain states of mind. As did the lines between ally and enemy, and two men who could never truly be either. Sex brings forth a world of change.


	23. Chapter 23

**Obdurate Heart – XXIII**

_Yet again, a short chapter…don't kill me for it, or you can consider your ass haunted._

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"Conscience is the inner voice that warns us that someone might be looking."_**

**_- H. L. Mencken

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Obi Wan's eyes opened with difficulty to show him a blurry and distorted world, a sudden shiver running through his body. Was it dark out? Silencing a would-be groan, he lifted his head off of Maul's arm and pushed himself up slightly, eyes scanning about the room in mild confusion. Though there wasn't much of his circumstance to question. Naked, groggy, and sharing a bed only really meant one thing. Numbly, he looked over towards Maul, who returned his gaze with a careless look.

Obi Wan swallowed thickly and gaped down at his own bare chest. "H-how long have I…?"

Maul rolled back a shoulder in something between a shrug and a stretch. "Under an hour. Perhaps half."

Obi Wan felt his breath steady in relief, pushing himself stiffly up into a sitting position and rubbing his head. _This is madness. I cannot truly be here._ Said his mind in wonder, but his memory provided him with a bold, uncensored truth. _Truly I did not just allow a Sith Lord to bed me!_ He shuddered and quickly reached over the bed for haphazard scatterings of clothing.

"Is the act not normally meant to _relieve_ one of stress?" Maul queried as he watched Obi Wan sit over the edge of the bed and pull his pants on.

Obi Wan picked up his tunic and draped it on loosely as well, putting a hand to his face and able to say nothing for the moment. He heard Maul slide up into a sitting position behind him, a strange pause settling in the air.

"…I…" Obi Wan began uncertainly. "…I feel like a fool even now. Turning my back to you, I mean." He said aimlessly, fingers fumbling slowly to redress himself. "Knowing that you could easily try to kill me."

He felt Maul move a little closer, and he was tempted to think that his spoken suspicions were about to come true. A moment later, he felt hands rest harmlessly on his shoulders. "And yet your back is indeed turned." Maul pointed out.

Obi Wan felt the hands knead slightly into his shoulders, and he suppressed another shudder. "I must go."

The hands went still, then cautiously drew away from him.

Obi Wan stood up and walked out of the room without looking back.

As he passed back out of the chamber, the guards still stood at their posts dutifully, only sparing him a nod of acknowledgement if he should look in their direction. Their faces were unchanged, but he wondered what went on in those heads of theirs. Had they heard the argument? Had they heard anything afterwards? Once he passed, did they turn to one another with bewildered whispers and revolted outrage? He kept his head low and the flushed color of his skin hidden as he walked away from them into the looming twilight.

The air felt cold against his skin, and he couldn't bring himself to be convinced that it was due to any change in season. Warmth had left him, but he did not understand whether it was idea of the act itself, the guilt he felt, or simply the sudden removal from the heat of another body. Pulling his clothes tighter around his form, Obi Wan attempted to allow the echo of his footfalls drown away the discomfort that welled up within him. The veil was lifting all the same. He suffered no lingering delusion regarding the reality of his situation. Not when so much incontestable evidence lay on his very skin. His mouth tasted different. His body was tainted with many breeds of fluid. He could feel the lingering aches and tingles in his lower back as he moved onward.

_What have I done?_

His quarters seemed phenomenally smaller than it had the last time he had left it. In the oddest sense, he was almost afraid to be back here, as though this place were a person and the first he would be forced to admit to what he had done. Unthinkingly, he collapsed into his bed, fingers fondling the folds of sheets that had not been stained with sin. He had given in, that was really the worst of things. To anger, to passion, to some strange, sickening allure. This was not a forgivable error, and it certainly did not help that the pit of him experienced an incomprehensible feeling of satisfaction. As though some weight was finally lifted from his shoulders, some tension broken, some dark secret finally spoken aloud. Even as the world around him had become twice the danger it had once been in a matter of moments. …He slept that night, nevertheless.


	24. Chapter 24

**Obdurate Heart – XXIV**

_Thanks for the reviews, sorry I didn't have time to look over this chapter, so please excuse errors._

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"The greatest risk is the risk of riskless living."_**

**_-Stephen Covey

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Obi Wan awoke late in the day. A myriad of aching muscles and stiff joints had been waiting to greet him upon his return, having settled into his body as if to scold him for his stay so late in bed. He welcomed them as a distraction as he slowly drew up, holding onto the worst of them as long as they would stay. Unfortunately, far more piercing things were on his mind than a few sore spots and having overslept. He was suddenly overcome with the urge to return to the holding chamber, and he cleaned and dressed in a dire hurry. What did Maul think of all this? And what was he prepared to say? If anyone was going to be forthright about this mishap, he did not want the first of them to be Maul.

_Yes but who would believe him? _Questioned a worrying voice that kept him in a distant state from the physical tasks he was performing. _A treacherous Sith over an esteemed Jedi?_ This was true. At first impression, no sane man would think twice about the ludicrous accusations of a prisoner in this nature. However, dishonesty would haunt him. It was lowly and despicable, more so than having committed the act in the first place. No self-respecting Jedi would dare to lie about something so grave. _Nor would he sleep with a Sith Lord._Obi Wan grit his teeth and bit back a groan, quickly leaving his room in search of the makeshift prisoner cell once more.

With every step, his urgency grew, and his breath seemed to shorten. He was being a bit unreasonable, but he did not argue with a justified paranoia. When he made it to the guards, he stopped this time, addressing the head of them with a voice that held the utmost calm. "…Good morning." He greeted.

"Sir." The guard nodded in return.

"Has he been fed?" Obi Wan asked casually, keeping his hands folded at his waist to prevent them from fidgeting.

"Yes of course, Sir." The guard nodded again swiftly. "As you've asked."

"Very good. And he hasn't spoken? Hasn't said anything to you?"

"To me personally, Sir?"

"To any of you."

"I'm sorry Sir, but he rather thinks it beneath him to speak to us, it appears." The guard offered this apologetically, as though this answer could possibly upset him.

Obi Wan swallowed and mustered a soft smile, bowing a little in thanks. With quaking legs, he stepped back into the room and closed the door quickly, turning to face the inhabitant.

Maul was looking at Obi Wan, saying nothing and wearing an uncertain expression.

Obi Wan felt many things. Anger and fret circled him in an unattainable whirl, met every now and then with a stiff numbness to the whole thing. "…Do you think you have what you want, then?" he asked quietly, voice trembling in the same twist of frustration and fear.

Maul offered him nothing but a wary look of confusion.

"I said, do you have what you want?" Obi Wan kept himself rather quiet, striding to the bed.

Lowering his head, Maul glared up at Obi Wan with a slow sneer. "…Don't start games on me. …What am I supposed to want now?"

"An advantage. That's what this is about. Now you've got this to lord over me. Do you think that I'll negotiate? Is that it?"

"That's what you think." Maul relaxed out of his guarded pose, resting his elbows over his knees and calming his tone.

"Whatever you're thinking, you are to be disappointed." Obi Wan stated firmly. "I will not allow you anything simply because you have this. Blackmail does not persuade a Jedi."

"That is so very noble." Maul said in disgust, shaking his head and shrugging. "You can put your outrages to rest…I'll lie."

Obi Wan blinked, brow furrowing in utter mystification. "…What?"

"I'll lie." Maul repeated. There was something so simple about the way he spoke. "If that is what you want. I will say that it did not happen."

Obi Wan stared in a slowly forming horror, unable for the life of him to put a thought in order. Lie. He did not understand. Lie? … "…Lie?"

"If that is what you wish." Maul nodded again.

"But…" Obi Wan shook his head. "But why?"

Maul snorted, a hand grazing over his wound. "I have accepted my fate, Jedi, as I've said before. There is no reason to damn my master by giving his name. There is no reason to damn you by giving yours."

Obi Wan was sinking into the chair before he realized it. He felt truly ill. Somehow, this made the situation worse than he'd thought.

"Unless you wish for me to admit it." Maul added.

He had never felt so threatened by insanity. "…Must you do what I say?"

"Yes. I am a pawn."

"Can't you think for yourself?" Obi Wan muttered pitifully. "Don't you have a concept of whether this is right or wrong?"

"Don't you?"

"Of course I do." Obi Wan leaned his elbows onto the bed and buried his face in his hands. "It is _wrong_."

Maul blinked slowly, his demeanor unchanged. "Then I will not deny it. Since that will please you."

"…Say nothing." Obi Wan heard himself say as he rubbed his pounding temples. "…Tell no lie but speak no truth…Silence is better than hearing either."

"Is that wise?"

"It was not wise to fall into your bed." Obi Wan scowled just slightly. "Wisdom is no longer a factor. Nor is logic—this is…"

"You're losing your head." Maul pointed out, tapping a finger mockingly at the top of Obi Wan's head.

He slowly looked up, eyes narrowed. "That is easy for you to say. This makes no difference to you."

"And why should it?"

"Enemies are not supposed to fornicate." Obi Wan insisted.

"How can we be enemies if we have nothing to gain from doing harm to one another?"

"And I am supposed to believe that you have nothing to gain from discrediting me?"

"What _have_ I to gain?"

"…Satisfaction."

"You've given me that."

"Oh don't say it in that way." Obi Wan grimaced and covered his face again.

"Is sex so abnormal?" Maul started, and Obi Wan felt a panicking urge to shush him.

"_Yes_." He hissed back in a whisper. "For a Jedi alone, yes. And for a Jedi and a Sith—_yes_."

"You obsess on titles so much. You're a Jedi, but you're a man as well, aren't you? As am I. You're much too averse to simplicity for your own good."

"Just because being a Sith means nothing to you does not mean that being a Jedi means nothing to me." Obi Wan protested with a dismissive hand gesture. "If you want such a simple fact, then let's just leave this at _it's_ _wrong_."

"Did it _feel_ wrong?"

"I…" Obi Wan paused. "Yes. It does."

"I didn't ask if it feels wrong now, I asked if it felt wrong then."

"Well yes."

"Did it?"

"I said yes, didn't I?"

"Really. I'm every bit certain that you were erect during the process—"

"That—!" Obi Wan's eyes widened. "—is a bodily function, it has no measure of right and wrong!"

"Mm." Maul smirked and rested a cheek against his fist.

Obi Wan stared at him for a moment before sighing. "Physically, it was…it was…" he swallowed and winced inwardly. "…pleasing. Is that what you want to hear?"

"Did you sleep?" Maul casually followed the crease of the sheets beneath him with two fingers.

"What?" Obi Wan raised an eyebrow.

"Did you sleep?" Maul repeated. "After you left. Or were you up the whole night worrying over your precious morals and washing skin that never seemed to clean?"

Obi Wan stilled and opened his mouth, stammering briefly. "…I-I was exhausted." He defended. "…I didn't have the energy to…be…I hadn't even slept the night before."

"Mm." Maul repeated.

The more Maul spoke, the less Obi Wan felt he liked him. He made a move to speak, but was stopped as a hand rested upon his face, stunning him temporarily into silence.

"Make excuses if you must. But not to me. They are useless here." Maul stroked a thumb over Obi Wan's cheekbone with an unwelcome tenderness. "I'm rather fond of you. I'm also tempted to think that you have at least some interest with me."

Obi Wan's throat felt dry. The touch of that hand already felt familiar, and he rebuked his own body for its damnable nature. "That is not what is important."

"Whether or not you like the idea, you allowed it to happen. And what is more is that you came back. Tell me something; am I the first you have sought solace in over this incident? Did you speak to your master or sit for some foolish meditation, or did you come straight to me? …Hm?"

"…Well I…" he was growing supremely tired of not having enough words. "I came here."

"Then don't pretend to be fighting yourself. The part of you that thinks it wrong has lost, and the part that feels it right has won."

"I'm going mad." Obi Wan stated, blinking as he stared blankly ahead of him and drew a hand up to grasp Maul's wrist loosely. "It must be that simple. I've suffered some sort of trauma. I have completely and thoroughly lost my mind—is it as clear to you as it is to me?"

"Don't be dramatic." Maul chortled and brought his other hand to touch Obi Wan's neck.

"Dramatic? I'm…" he tried to speak clearly, but he couldn't bring himself to focus. "I'm not being dramatic. I have _lost_…_my_…_mind_." Reaching up, Obi Wan ran his fingertips along Maul's jaw line and kissed him with a quiet, miserable sigh.


	25. Chapter 25

**Obdurate Heart – XXV**

_Yes indeed, so I've introduced the romance part of the story. Hope it doesn't come off too…corny? And I hope you have fun with the story from this point on. Thanks to all who said that the relationship was bridged realistically, because there was a point in this story where I said 'ah fuckit' over that particular aspect. Oh yes, and do I need to mention that I own Dulan, Omad, and various other minor bothers? Well, I can't imagine anyone has a good reason to steal them. I'm not sure I'd care if they did. I just remember creating a minor character in a story once, and someone said, "That guy's totally out of character though,". I made him up! How would you know? Alright, alright, I'm done rambling on. _

**_

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"Men should be what they seem."_**

**_- William Shakespeare

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_**

"I scarcely believed it myself." Dulan sighed as he swept a hand down the right side of his face, sending a few short gray locks spouting from the headband above. "But it is nevertheless true. The Jedi Council is willing to spare his life."

"It's contemptible, that's what it is." Came the sharp reply of Dulan's young male Twi'lek companion and he pushed one fist into the table. "Damn their whole race if this is how they meet terrorism—with mercy!"

"Calm yourself, Iseir, calm down." Dulan held up one hand and rested the other on the surface before him.

"I have been more than patient." Said the blue-skinned creature as he took a moment to pace. "We all have. Patient with the antics of this Jedi Code, and look what it has gotten us. By what divine doctrine must we entrust them with our justice?"

"We do not have any other choice. Our only hope is to try and persuade them."

"That's a futile expectation and you know it." Iseir growled, pacing again. "What reason have they to listen to our pleas? What reason do they have to offer us reparations for our sufferings when most of them overlook our existence entirely? They are so absorbed in their damn politics that they don't even recognize the innocents being slaughtered amid their battles. They have forgotten that there are _victims_ in this war—not just soldiers."

"If they had no concern, they would not be willing to listen to our case at all." Dulan protested with a tired expression.

"They are humoring us to keep us quiet." He scoffed in return, tossing out a hand in disgust. "I'm beginning to think that nothing short of action will catch their attention."

Dulan folded his hands and narrowed his eyes warily, leaning forward in his seat. "You should hold your tongue before it tangles, Iseir. You're starting to sound like Omad."

The Twi'lek paused, regaining his composure and eyeing the older man in an icy way. "Well perhaps he was not as far from the solution as we thought."

"You had best reconsider that." Dulan responded gravely.

"Think about it, Dulan," Iseir's tone took a more pleading tone. "If they do not make the decision to execute Darth Maul, this is our only window to take matters into our own hands. Omad made a point, did he not? That this is the only time we shall have to act before he is moved into a prison."

"Very well then." Dulan answered flatly, crossing his gaunt arms across his chest as he leaned back. "Shall I reconvene the rest of the assembly and inform them of our shift into cutthroat assassination?"

The other scowled inwardly, but said nothing.

"And I did not see this sort of passion in you when the assembly _was_ here. Where was your adamancy then? Or are your words only brave enough to face a single old man?"

Iseir shook his head and sighed gruffly, gazing out the window of their shelter onto the long deserts of Tatooine. "…I was not as certain then as I am now, knowing that the Jedi will allow him to live. We are dealing with evil, Dulan. If the best defense against evil is that there is nothing we can do, there is no point in the façade of making a plea. Evil _must_ die, and there _is_ no wrong way to facilitate that. Perhaps there is a point where you are willing to drop the fight, but I will not stand by and—"

The men's brewing disagreement was suddenly cut short as the soft clearing of a throat interrupted them. When they turned to face the entrance to the room, a young human woman stood to meet their gazes, sand-covered dressings wrapped about her frame and mussed, russet hair tied up away from her face. Her wide eyes danced cautiously between Iseir and Dulan, eventually settling onto Dulan before her head nodded in a small bow. "…Sir…there is something I've come to report."

Dulan gave one last contemplative glance to Iseir before turning his full attention to the young woman, motioning for her to come closer. "Is it urgent?"

"I…am not entirely certain, Sir. But you really may want to look over this." She confirmed. Iseir straightened up in interest.

"Regarding?" Dulan pressed.

"We found something on the body of Omad that we believed you would like to study for yourself." The girl explained, producing a small disc from her robes and placing it on the table in front of him. "It's a storage unit for a holo-recorder."

"So I see." Dulan touched his fingers over the surface of it, a brief ghost of remorse in his eyes.

"Images have been relayed from a separate recorder. It contains…Omad's last message, Sir." The girl again bowed her head respectfully.

After giving Iseir a rather uneasy look, Dulan returned his eyes to the recorder before them and tapped his chin. "…And have you reviewed this recording yourself?"

"Yes Sir."

"And what was your impression?"

The girl hesitated. "It was…disturbing, if I may say so, Sir."

Making his expression sturdy, Dulan took the disc in his hand and activated it, setting it back upon the table with a gaze of anticipation. Iseir quickly gathered himself closer to view.

Surely enough, with a small fizzle, the grainy three dimensional image of the late Omad Vavesto appeared to greet them, croaking out a somewhat distorted audio.

_"—cording as a precaution in the case I am unsuccessful in my attempts. Meaning that if you are viewing this message, I am either in custody or in a state far worse."_ Omad's rough voice broke out with slight static, his mildly grizzled and darkly stubbled face meeting them for the last time. "_As you can guess, my intentions went beyond the mere suggestions you may have taken them for. Know that I hold no resentment for the assembly in their wish to remain peaceful, but I nevertheless think them in the wrong approach. So now I go against the wishes of my fellowmen in favor for the wishes of my people. It was said to me that needless killing does not condone another needless killing, but I will insist that there are those of us who very much need to witness the death of Darth Maul. If a wound is left open, it shall never heal, and I long for the heart of my brethren to be whole again. And I can assure you that while this death will bring peace to many, it will bring sadness to none. …Dulan,_"

There was a small disruption in the image before it continued, and Dulan leaned forward almost unintentionally.

"_If I should never meet with you again, please know this was not an act of defiance, but an act of love. As a friend and as the mentor you were, I ask you not to scorn my decision. And I ask, as the only favor I will ever ask of you, that you show our people what it is I am about to do. That you offer them this as proof of retribution for the horrors they have been so needlessly subjected to. The following captured recording will be transmitted into this unit, which I shall ensure makes it to you in one way or another._" The figure's features softened for a moment. "_I do what must be done. I would ask of you no less._" And with that, the image of Omad vanished.

Dulan slowly raised a hand to smooth over his facial hair as he watched the image shift quickly to a different scene, teeth worrying a thumbnail and a mournful shadow falling across his face. What they viewed now was the inner quarters of the chamber in which Darth Maul was being held.

"The audio is irreparable, but the images are quite clear." The girl noted, and Dulan regarded this distantly.

"…Who is that boy?" Dulan straightened up curiously, stroking his temple.

"His name is Obi Wan Kenobi. He is apprenticed to Master Jin—apparently employed as a sentry for their prisoner." Informed the messenger.

"Of Master Jin?" Dulan stared at the young man carefully, who was looking to be very tired where he sat at Maul's bedside. "Master Jin made no mention that his apprentice was present at the time of the attack."

"Well why should he?" Iseir murmured in addition. "Aren't the Jedi above honesty these days?"

"Quiet yourself, Iseir." Dulan shook his head, not taking his eyes away from the recording. The scene unfolded instantly as Omad appeared from the shadows and sent Obi Wan onto his back on the tile floor. The spectators of this recording went rather tense. Omad quickly turned from the assault on Qui Gon's Padawan to the bed upon which a still-unconscious Maul lay helpless. He raised the saber in ready to plunge it downward, before suddenly, a quick tackle from behind prevented his success. Obi Wan and Omad struggled for a moment before launching into an all-out battle, moving around the room in a whirl of sabers and flashes of light in an otherwise darkened room. Both of them had clearly been trained well in their respective element.

The situation took on a complicated turn in a matter of moments. As Omad pushed Obi Wan back away from the bed, Maul could be seen shifting from his own position. The Zabrak's eyes opened quickly as he came around, and he heavily pushed himself up onto a shoulder to look over at the fight in alarm. In the next instant he was clutching his side and slinking out of bed with an obvious amount of physical stress, though unstably finding his feet in a serpentine poise that was present but wounded nonetheless. On the other side of the room, Obi Wan hit the floor once again with a tremendous blow and one thick, dark spurt of blood painting a blackish streak from where his head collided. Even with this gruesome wound, the young Padawan amazingly retained consciousness and struggled to right his tipped world while the enemy was coming down upon him. Omad approached his fallen opponent once more, and in doing so, was completely oblivious to the Sith Lord looming behind him. Maul silently retrieved Obi Wan's dropped weapon from the ground and, appearing to draw up his strength, crept closer to his intended assassin.

Omad raised his saber. Despite his lacking in proper health, Maul's deadly speed and precision were acute. In the briefest flicker of an eye, he had struck, and Omad was cut away before he had the chance to understand he was in danger.

Dulan quickly turned from the projection in horror, one hand to his brow. Iseir could only stare in shock.

As the recording ran, Maul's stance fell lax, one hand returning to his injured side and the other casting the saber away carelessly. His eyes fell fast upon Obi Wan, who was limp and unmoving by this point. His lips made some unheard comment to the unconscious figure, and he moved towards him, dropping to one knee swiftly and prying a hand up under Obi Wan's head against the wound. He seemed to yell out something and wait, which, after a few seconds, drew a sudden flood of guards into the room. There was momentary chaos. A guard could be seen motioning for Maul to move away with his blaster, to which Maul snarled and gestured to Obi Wan as though pointing out something painfully clear. With guns on him, however, Maul was forced to back away, a thin rope of blood drizzling from the hand that had touched his Jedi guardian. Obi Wan was then subject to a great deal of fussing from the guards' end.

"Turn it off." Dulan waved a hand and turned away, unwilling to see more now that the point had been made.

Iseir reached to shut off the device willingly, but he was stopped as the girl protested. "With all due respect, Sir, there is…" she paused as the eyes of both men fell back upon her. "…more."

"What do you mean, more?" Dulan cocked an eyebrow slowly let his gaze rest back upon the image.

"See for yourself." The girl bent forward and began to tamper through the unit, passing quickly by various scenes of unimportance until a particular incident came into view. "…This, Sir." She spoke quietly, stepping away.

Dulan was rendered speechless for many moments, eyes locked onto the images before him the utmost disbelief. Surely this could not be true.

"Sweet deity…" stammered Iseir, equally absorbed. There was no lie in a captured recording. That was, undisputedly, a Jedi Padawan and a Sith Lord in bed together.

"Is it recording still as we speak?" Dulan asked quietly, but his eyes didn't move.

"No Sir. The unit has filled up."

"This is an _outrage_…" Iseir snarled in a wavering tone.

"Now, calm yourself, Iseir." Dulan advised again, sensing his fellowman about to erupt.

"Don't tell me to calm myself!" Iseir brought a hand down hard on the table, causing the image to crackle slightly. "Do you _realize_ the implications of this? That monster isn't being kept alive because he can offer information—no! Because apparently they've found another use for him!"

"Iseir—"

"Or perhaps the Sith and the Jedi have become allies! Why put that beyond the line? First bedmates and then—"

"That is _enough_, Iseir!" Dulan snapped, and upon that raised tone, the Twi'lek promptly shut his mouth. "You look so hard for corruption, I will not hear another word of it."

"Hear nothing, only _look_!" Iseir gestured to the image, his voice a bit higher than it had been before.

Dulan licked a lower lip and nodded, watching the scene now with a much more interested expression. "…This may be a breakthrough in our cause…"

"What are you talking about?" Iseir shot the female messenger an incredulous look.

"You may be young and full of hate, but I at least have a sense of faith left in me for the Jedi Order." Dulan drew the disc towards him and sighed softly. "…Enough to know that this is not a conspiracy. Look at how they fight…"

"Then what is it you propose?"

Dulan rubbed his chin and raised his eyebrows at his companion. "Persuasion. I am talking about persuasion, as I told you before." He paused, leaning back as the recording played on. "…I wonder…if perhaps Master Jin would be interested in another meeting."


	26. Chapter 26

**Obdurate Heart – XXVI**

_If I moved any slower, we'd be back on chapter twenty four by now._

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"**_Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple…that's creativity." _**

**_- Charles Mingus

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"…Does…the wound still bother you?" Obi Wan asked casually, eyes down on the pear-shaped fruit he was idly fondling in his hands.

Maul half-consciously looked down at said wound and shook his head, taking a large drink of water. "It's healing well enough."

"Well I would still feel better with another look from the medic."

"So that's what you're bothering me about." Maul rolled his eyes and set his cup down with a mutter.

"It's precautionary." Obi Wan defended. "And after your episode earlier, I'm not taking chances."

"I don't want another damn incompetent medical droids prodding m—"

"You're getting one anyway." Obi Wan cut him off hastily, looking at him sternly and fearlessly. Maul growled but fell into silent defeat. "I can't imagine why you hate them so. Aren't you a bit beyond the pride of keeping to yourself?"

"No." Maul disagreed. "I do not enjoy others touching my body, is that so difficult to understand?"

Obi Wan hesitated for a long moment, his teeth resting lazily against his fruit in thought. "…No, actually. I suppose not. But when it is meaning to help you, I would think you'd at least relent to your own benefit."

"I do not want help." He returned simply. "Nor have I ever required it."

"Oh really?" Obi Wan huffed. "I suppose you could have gotten over that wound without medical attention. Or fought off that assassin in your sleep."

"Perhaps we'll never know."

"You're awfully full of yourself."

"High praise indeed."

"Do you realize how many of our conversations end in insults?" Obi Wan observed with a half chuckle, taking a bite.

"Approximately as many as those that begin with them." Maul nodded.

Obi Wan swallowed and stared blankly at the white innards of his fruit. "Well I've for one had enough…If you believe that we're no longer enemies, I suppose we shouldn't act like it."

"Call it a truce, then." Maul agreed, already closer when Obi Wan looked up and putting a hand on his shoulder as he went to kiss and nibble at the side of the Jedi's neck.

Obi Wan shifted a little and looked around, able to feel the gaze of guards who could not possibly see them. "Stop that. I'm trying to eat."

"You're welcome to keep trying." Maul replied carelessly.

"Stop." Obi Wan repeated, leaning his head away.

"Don't pretend to be modest."

"This isn't appropriate."

"You're tense, I can make you forget…"

Obi Wan gripped Maul's chin in his hand and pushed him back with a scoff. "You would only give me one more thing to remember. And that is exactly what I don't need."

Begrudgingly denied, Maul went back to eating, looking around the room slowly as though somehow expecting something to have changed. "You were not so prone to complaints before. Do I bore you now?"

"I am still trying to bring myself to my senses." Obi Wan admitted freely, rubbing his brow. "You may be a great many things, Maul, but boring is not one of them."

"Then what else am I?"

"I thought we agreed not to insult one another." He replied sarcastically.

Maul replied with something, but as there was food in his mouth, it came out rather incomprehensible.

"What?" Obi Wan laughed.

"I said, 'Oh'."

"I see, and I suppose no one has ever taught you manners."

"Not a one." Maul retorted cheekily.

Obi Wan chewed for a second and tossed his fruit aside, rubbing his chin. "…Do you remember your life before you were apprenticed?"

Maul paused, growing still as though trying to decide whether or not he should say anything at all. "…No. I don't." he answered nonchalantly after a moment, continuing to eat.

"So then I suppose your master was the only one you knew." Obi Wan mused aloud, finding this an odd revelation. If Maul had been raised only by such an evil force, how was it that he could retain anything but that evil? But then again, who was to say that he didn't?

"And manners were not on the top of his priority list, sorry to say." He jested dully, annoyed by Obi Wan's prying. "Still trying to get a name out of me, Jedi? I'd thought you'd given up on that by now."

"No," Obi Wan shook his head. "I am not asking about him. I am asking about…you."

"You know all you need to know of me." Maul insisted defensively.

"I hardly know a thing about you."

"There is hardly a thing to know."

"There's got to be something more to you than being a Sith apprentice." Obi Wan blinked and looked down in thought for a moment. "What's your favorite color?"

Maul stared blankly, mouth hanging open slightly in preparation for some sort of response that never came. After an awkward silence, he seemed to snap out of his trance. "I…What?" he demanded in confusion.

"Well that's something, isn't it?" Obi Wan rested his hands between his legs at the edge of his chair, tilting his head in calculation. "I mean besides your affiliation."

"I don't…" Maul snorted, seeming to waver between laughter and a scowl.

"You aren't color blind, are you?"

"What is in a color?" Maul brushed the question away.

"Come now," Obi Wan felt a grin tugging at his features. "You're to tell me that you've never even stopped to note the color in things?"

"Favoring a color is idiotic—you've got to see them all, don't you? I don't have one." He decided.

"Then choose one." Obi Wan suggested. Maul gave him a deadly look. "For my sake."

Maul uttered a growling sigh and looked up towards the ceiling. "Green. Is that enough?"

"Why green?"

"Because you asked me to choose a color you—"

"Yes, but why did you choose _green_?" Obi Wan demanded impatiently.

"Are you this maddening with everyone?" Maul hesitated for a long moment, rubbing a hand over his face. "It is possibly the color I see the least of, so it may as well be that."

"Alright then, so, there, that's something else." Obi Wan nodded, folding his arms across his chest. "Something about you that neither of us knew."

Maul grumbled in irritation, but smirked. "Then I suppose you have one, since you find it so important."

"My favorite color?" Obi Wan shook his head as he took a drink from his cup. "I don't have one."

"Well that's just—" Maul started in a snarl, raising up a little before he saw that Obi Wan was grinning to himself. "…Ridiculous Jedi…" he muttered under his breath, though it was perhaps a little tainted with a suppressed thread of affection.

"You were the one who told me I shouldn't be so serious." Obi Wan pointed out. "Have you changed your mind?"

"Perhaps I merely underestimated how annoying a Jedi's sense of humor tends to be."

"You would be annoyed no matter what way I acted." Obi Wan defended primly.

"That depends…" Maul growled back in a sultry manner.

Obi Wan looked down at his cup for a long moment before he shook his head, choosing to ignore that comment as he stood up. "I'd best be going. I have a medical appointment to schedule." He raised an eyebrow at Maul almost tauntingly.

Maul grumbled and watched as Obi Wan gathered some scattered remains onto the tray. "Hm. If you're good to me, I may refrain from destroying them."

"How generous of you." Obi Wan mumbled back as he picked up the tray. He stopped and looked over questioningly as Maul's hand snaked up his wrist.

Maul's tone lowered darkly, his eyes piercing. "…Will you be back?"

Obi Wan blinked. "I…I won't be coming back tonight, no." he swallowed and gently pulled away from the touch. "What I mean is that I don't have a…reason to. There wouldn't be a reason, that is."

"What if you had trouble sleeping?" Maul grinned cruelly, and Obi Wan was simultaneously tempted to both jump back and lean forward. "Would that be an implausible excuse?"

"I am not here on pleasure."

"There's no reason you couldn't be."

"I'll be back tomorrow." Obi Wan said at last, surprising and disturbing himself with how much assurance he allowed into his tone.

"For what, I wonder." Maul chuckled and lounged back, watching him go.

"Goodnight to you." The Jedi responded rather awkwardly, taking his leave quickly after.

By the time Obi Wan was standing outside of the chamber, he was already lost in thought. He only distantly regarded a guard taking the tray from him before he was off, headed back towards his own quarters. This situation with Maul was becoming increasingly complicated. Obi Wan wasn't even sure exactly how such a thing was possible, but it truly was. He still felt revolted at the idea of there even being a relationship, so why did that do so little to deter him? He had wondered at many possibilities, the most popular of which that he had indeed suffered some kind of madness. Another was that he had somehow fallen under the spell of the Sith, but that one inspired more fear than he liked to dwell upon. Meditation was becoming harder and harder to do. Every time he closed his eyes in an attempt to banish all images, images were the very thing that claimed him. And he couldn't very well seek Qui Gon's council. Or…anyone, really. Anyone save for Maul, and he felt that with every word uttered between them, his insanity was deepening.

Nevertheless, he felt himself sinking into a most uncomfortable position with Darth Maul. He was forming an attachment, as deplorable as something of that nature was. The Jedi did not form attachments, and he would not break that code if he could help it. The problem was that he was no longer sure he could help it… _This is ridiculous._ Obi Wan shook his head, thinking to himself. _He is using me. That can be the only explanation. I know that, and yet, I continue to allow it to progress._ But Obi Wan didn't know how he was being used, at least not for what reason. Was Maul trying to trick him into doing something, or was he simply trying to lure him into a dark place for his own satisfaction? Or perhaps he was bored and looking for attention, some simple company to entertain him before he was locked away for good. And of course, after that, there was only one option. Maul was genuinely interested in Obi Wan. It was the most pure of all listed motives, and yet it was the one that offended Obi Wan the most.

He concealed a long sigh, his shoulders stiff from tension and his frustrations completely unrelieved. All in all, it wasn't the complications of his position that worried him. Not at all. Looking at this in a complicated sense, it was easy to understand the conflict he felt. It was the concept of simplicity that frightened him. Because put simply, Obi Wan had broken rules. Obi Wan had defied the order he had devoted his life to. And all for a man whose motives were unclear and undisputedly vile? If things were put simply, Obi Wan could confess what he had done and be taken to trial, he could be removed from this situation and Maul's lure. He could watch the heartbreak in his master's eyes, and accept the title of a traitor…

Obi Wan shook his head and closed his eyes, slipping back into the makeshift reverie he had conjured to protect himself from the transgressions he had made. Things were complicated. They simply had to be.


End file.
